LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

GIFT  OF 

MRS.   MARY  WOLFSOH-N 

IN    MEMORY   OF 

HENRY  WOLFSOHN 


P 


r 


T  II  E 


SYMBOLISM  OF  FREEMASONRY: 


ILLUSTRATING     AND     EXPLAINING 


JSricttfe  and  gUilojsophjf,  its 
,  ami 


BY 


ALBERT    G.    MACKEY,   M.  D., 

AUTHOR  OF  "LEXICON    OF   FREEMASONRY,"   "TEXT-BOOK  OF  MASOXIC 

JURISPRUDENCE,"  "  CRYPTIC   MASONRY," 

KTC.,    ETC. 


'Ea  enim  quie  scribuntur  tria  habere  decent,  utilitatem  prxsentem, 
certum  finem,  inexpugnabile  fundamentum" 

CARDANUS. 


NEW  YORK.- 

CLARK     AND     M  A  Y  N  A  R  D, 

5  BARCLAY  STREET. 
i  869. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1869,  by 

ALBERT    G.    MACKEY, 
In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  District  of  South  Carolina. 


Stereotyped  at  the  Boston  Stereotype  Foundry, 
No.  19  Spring  Lane. 


TO 


GENERAL   JOHN  C.  FREMONT. 

MY  DEAR  SIR  : 

While  any  American  might  be  proud  of  associating 
his  name  with  that  of  one  who  has  clone  so  much  to 
increase  the  renown  of  his  country,  and  to  enlarge  the 
sum  of  human  knowledge,  this  book  is  dedicated  to  you 
as  a  slight  testimonial  of  regard  for  your  personal  char 
acter,  and  in  grateful  recollection  of  acts  of  friendship. 

Yours  very  truly, 

A.  G.  MACKEY. 


PREFACE. 


OF  the  various  modes  of  communicating  instruction  to  the 
uninformed,  the  masonic  student  is  particularly  interested  in  two; 
namely,  the  instruction  by  legends  and  that  by  symbols.  It  is  to 
these  two,  almost  exclusively,  that  he  is  indebted  for  all  that  he 
knows,  and  for  all  that  he  can  know,  of  the  philosophic  system 
which  is  taught  in  the  institution.  All  its  mysteries  and  its  dog 
mas,  which  constitute  its  philosophy,  are  intrusted  for  communi 
cation  to  the  neophyte,  sometimes  to  one,  sometimes  to  the  other 
of  these  two  methods  of  instruction,  and  sometimes  to  both  of 
them  combined.  The  Freemason  has  no  way  of  reaching  any  of 
the  esoteric  teachings  of  the  Order  except  through  the  medium 
of  a  legend  or  a  symbol. 

A  legend  differs  from  an  historical  narrative  only  in  this  —  that 
it  is  without  documentary  evidence  of  authenticity.  It  is  the  off 
spring  solely  of  tradition.  Its  details  may  be  true  in  part  or 
in  whole.  There  may  be  no  internal  evidence  to  the  contrary, 
or  there  may  be  internal  evidence  that  they  are  altogether  false. 
But  neither  the  possibility  of  truth  in  the  one  case,  nor  the  cer 
tainty  of  falsehood  in  the  other,  can  remove  the  traditional  nar- 

3 


4  PREFACE. 

rative  from  the  class  of  legends.  It  is  a  legend  simply  because 
it  rests  on  no  written  foundation.  It  is  oral,  and  therefore 
legendary. 

In  grave  problems  of  history,  such  as  the  establishment  of  em 
pires,  the  discovery  and  settlement  of  countries,  or  the  rise  and  fall 
of  dynasties,  the  knowledge  of  the  truth  or  falsity  of  the  legenda 
ry  narrative  will  be  of  importance,  because  the  value  of  history 
is  impaired  by  the  imputation  of  doubt.  But  it  is  not  so  in  Free 
masonry.  Here  there  need  be  no  absolute  question  of  the  truth 
or  falsity  of  the  legend.  The  object  of  the  masonic  legends  is  not 
to  establish  historical  facts,  but  to  convey  philosophical  doctrines. 
The}'  are  a  method  by  which  esoteric  instruction  is  communicated, 
and  the  student  accepts  them  with  reference  to  nothing  else  ex 
cept  their  positive  use  and  meaning  as  developing  masonic  dog 
mas.  Take,  for  instance,  the  Iliramic  legend  of  the  third  degree. 
Of  what  importance  is  it  to  the  disciple  of  Masonry  whether  it 
be  true  or  false?  All  that  he  wants  to  know  is  its  internal  signi 
fication  ;  and  when  he  learns  that  it  is  intended  to  illustrate  the 
doctrine  of  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  he  is  content  with  that 
interpretation,  and  he  does  not  deem  it  necessary,  except  as  a  mat 
ter  of  curious  or  antiquarian  inquiry,  to  investigate  its  historical 
accuracy,  or  to  reconcile  any  of  its  apparent  contradictions.  So 
of  the  lost  keystone;  so  of  the  second  temple;  so  of  the  hidden 
ark  :  these  are  to  him  legendary  narratives,  which,  like  the  casket, 
would  be  of  no  value  were  it  not  for  the  precious  jewel  contained 
within.  Each  of  these  legends  is  the  expression  of  a  philosoph 
ical  idea. 

But  there  is  another  method  of  masonic  instruction,  and  that 
is  by  symbols.  No  science  is  more  ancient  than  that  of  symbol 
ism.  At  one  time,  nearly  all  the  learning  of  the  -world  was  con 
veyed  in  symbols.  And  although  modern  philosophy  now  deals 
only  in  abstract  propositions,  Freemasonry  still  cleaves  to  the 


PREFACE.  5 

ancient  method,  and  has  preserved  it  in  its  primitive  importance 
as  a  means  of  communicating  knowledge. 

According  to  the  derivation  of  the  word  from  the  Greek,  "  to 
symbolize"  signifies  "to  compare  one  thing  with  another." 
Hence  a  symbol  is  the  expression  of  an  idea  that  has  been  de 
rived  from  the  comparison  or  contrast  of  some  object  with  a  moral 
conception  or  attribute.  Thus  we  say  that  the  plumb  is  a  symbol 
of  rectitude  of  conduct.  The  physical  qualities  of  the  plumb  are 
here  compared  or  contrasted  with  the  moral  conception  of  virtue, 
or  rectitude.  Then  to  the  Speculative  Mason  it  becomes,  after  he 
has  been  taught  its  symbolic  meaning,  the  visible  expression  of 
the  idea  of  moral  uprightness. 

But  although  there  are  these  two  modes  of  instruction  in  Free 
masonry, —  by  legends  and  by  symbols,  —  there  really  is  no  radi 
cal  difference  between  the  two  methods.  The  symbol  is  a  visible, 
and  the  legend  an  audible  representation  of  some  contrasted  idea 
—  of  some  moral  conception  produced  from  a  comparison.  Both 
the  legend  and  the  symbol  relate  to  dogmas  of  a  deep  religious 
character;  both  of  them  convey  moral  sentiments  in  the  same 
peculiar  method,  and  both  of  them  are  designed  by  this  method 
to  illustrate  the  philosophy  of  Speculative  Masonry. 

To  investigate  the  recondite  meaning  of  these  legends  and 
symbols,  and  to  elicit  from  them  the  moral  and  philosophical  les 
sons  which  they  were  intended  to  teach,  is  to  withdraw  the  veil 
with  which  ignorance  and  indifference  seek  to  conceal  the  true 
philosophy  of  Freemasonry. 

To  study  the  symbolism  of  Masonry  is  the  only  way  to  inves 
tigate  its  philosophy.  This  is  the  portal  of  its  temple,  through 
which  alone  we  can  gain  access  to  the  sacellum  where  its  apor- 
rheta  are  concealed. 

Its  philosophy  is  engaged  in  the  consideration  of  propositions 
relating  to  God  and  man,  to  the  present  and  the  future  life.  Its 


6  PREFACE. 

science  is  the  syrrbolism  by  which  these  propositions  are  present 
ed  to  the  mind. 

The  work  now  offered  to  the  public  is  an  effort  to  develop  and 
explain  this  philosophy  and  science.  It  will  show  that  there  are 
in  Freemasonry  the  germs  of  profound  speculation.  If  it  does 
not  interest  the  learned,  it  may  instruct  the  ignorant.  If  so,  I 
shall  not  regret  the  labor  and  research  that  have  been  bestowed 
upon  its  composition. 

ALBERT   G.  MACKEY,  M.  D. 

CHARLESTON,  S.  C.,  Feb.  22,  1869. 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

9 

22 
26 
32 

39 

45 


I.  Preliminary 

II.  The  Noachidce 

III.  The  Primitive  Freemasonry  of  Antiquity.    . 

IV.  The  Spurious  Freemasonry  of  Antiquity. 

V.  The  Ancient  Mysteries. 

VI.  The  Dionysiac  Artificers 

VII.  The  Union  of  Speculative  and  Operative  Masonry 
at  the  Temple  of  Solomon.  ..... 

VIII.      The  Travelling  Freemasons  of  the  Middle  Ages. 

IX.  Disseverance  of  the  Operative  Element.  . 

X.  The  System  of  Symbolic  Instruction.     . 

XI.  The  Speculative  Science  and  the  Operative  Art. 

XII.  The  Symbolism  of  Solomoti's  Temple. 

XIII.  The  Form  of  the  Lodge 

XIV.  The  Officers  of  a  Lodge 

XV.  The  Point  "within  a  Circle.          .          •          •          «          .in 

XVI.  The  Covering  of  the  Lodge.  .         .         .         .          117 

XVII.  Ritualistic  Symbolism.         .          .          ,          .          .          .123 

XVIII.  The  Rite  of  Discalceation 125 


58 
62 
66 
7* 
77 
85 
100 
106 


CONTENTS. 


XX. 

The  Symbolism  of  the  Gloves  

••3" 

136 

XXI. 

The  Rite  of  Circumambulation  

I42 

XXII. 

The   Rite  of  Intrusting,    and  the    Symbolism   of 

Light 

I  A? 

XXIII. 

Symbolism  of  the  Corner-stone.            ... 

1"t/ 
159 

XXIV. 

The  Ineffable  Name.         ...... 

I76 

XXV. 

The  Legends  of  Freemasonry  

198 

XXVI. 

The  Legend  of  the  Winding  Stairs.        .          .          . 

215 

XXVII. 

The  Legend  of  the  Third  Degree.      .         .         . 

228 

XXVIII. 

The  Sprig  of  Acacia  

247 

XXIX. 

The  Symbolism  of  Labor  

263 

XXX. 

The  Stone  of  Foundation.        ..... 

28l 

XXXI. 

The  Lost  Word  

300 

1. 


PRELIMINARY. 


THE    ORIGIN    AND    PROGRESS    OF   FREEMASONRY. 

NY  inquiry  into  the  symbolism  and  philosophy 
of  Freemasonry  must  necessarily  be  preceded  by 
a  brief  investigation  of  the  origin  and  history  of 
the  institution.  Ancient  and  universal  as  it  is, 
whence  did  it  arise?  What  were  the  accidents  connected 
with  its  birth?  From  what  kindred  or  similar  association 
did  it  spring?  Or  was  it  original  and  autochthonic,  in 
dependent,  in  its  inception,  of  any  external  influences, 
and  unconnected  with  any  other  institution?  These  are 
questions  which  an  intelligent  investigator  will  be  dis 
posed  to  propound  in  the  very  commencement  of  the 
inquiry  ;  and  they  are  questions  which  must  be  distinctly 
answered  before  he  can  be  expected  to  comprehend  its 
true  character  as  a  symbolic  institution.  He  must  know 
something  of  its  antecedents  before  he  can  appreciate  its 
character. 

But  he  who  expects  to  arrive  at  a  satisfactory  solution 
of  this  inquiry  must  first  —  as  a  preliminary  absolutely 


10  THE    ORIGIN   AND    PROGRESS 

necessary  to  success  —  release  himself  from  the  influence 
of  an  error  into  which  novices  in  Masonic  philosophy  are 
too  apt  to  fall.  He  must  not  confound  the  doctrine  of 
Freemasonry  with  its  outward  and  extrinsic  form.  He 
must  not  suppose  that  certain  usages  and  ceremonies, 
which  exist  at  this  day,  but  which,  even  now,  are  subject 
to  extensive  variations  in  different  countries,  constitute  the 
sum  and  substance  of  Freemasonry.  u  Prudent  antiqui 
ty,"  says  Lord  Coke,  u  did  for  more  solemnity  and  better 
memory  and  observation  of  that  which  is  to  be  done, 
express  substances  under  ceremonies."  But  it  must  be 
always  remembered  that  the  ceremony  is  not  the  sub 
stance.  It  is  but  the  outer  garment  which  covers  and 
perhaps  adorns  it,  as  clothing  does  the  human  figure. 
But  divest  man  of  that  outward  apparel,  and  you  still 
have  the  microcosm,  the  wondrous  creation,  with  all  his 
nerves,  and  bones,  and  muscles,  and,  above  all,  with  his 
brain,  and  thoughts,  and  feelings.  And  so  take  from  Ma 
sonry  these  external  ceremonies,  and  you  still  have  re 
maining  its  philosophy  and  science.  These  have,  of 
course,  always  continued  the  same,  while  the  ceremonies 
have  varied  in  different  ages,  and  still  vary  in  different 
countries. 

The  definition  of  Freemasonry  that  it  is  "  a  science  of 
morality,  veiled  in  allegory,  and  illustrated  by  symbols," 
has  been  so  often  quoted,  that,  were  it  not  for  its  beauty, 
it  would  become  wearisome.  But  this  definition  contains 
the  exact  principle  that  has  just  been  enunciated.  Free 
masonry  is  a  science  —  a  philosophy  —  a  system  of  doc 
trines  which  is  taught,  in  a  manner  peculiar  to  itself,  by 
allegories  and  symbols.  This  is  its  internal  character. 
Its  ceremonies  are  external  additions,  which  affect  not  its 
substance. 


OF    FREEMASONRY.  II 

Now,  when  we  are  about  to  institute  an  inquiry  into 
the  origin  of  Freemasonry,  it  is  of  this  peculiar  system 
of  philosophy  that  we  are  to  inquire,  and  not  of  the  cere 
monies  which  have  been  foisted  on  it.  If  we  pursue  any 
other  course  we  shall  assuredly  fall  into  error. 

Thus,  if  we  seek  the  origin  and  first  beginning  of  the 
Masonic  philosophy,  we  must  go  away  back  into  the  ages 
of  remote  antiquity,  when  we  shall  find  this  beginning  in 
the  bosom  of  kindred  associations,  where  the  same  phi 
losophy  was  maintained  and  taught.  But  if  we  confound 
the  ceremonies  of  Masonry  with  the  philosophy  of  Mason 
ry,  and  seek  the  origin  of  the  institution,  moulded  into 
outward  form  as  it  is  to-day,  we  can  scarcely  be  required 
to  look  farther  back  than  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  and,  indeed,  not  quite  so  far.  For  many  impor 
tant  modifications  have  been  made  in  its  rituals  since  that 
period. 

Having,  then,  arrived  at  the  conclusion  that  it  is  not 
the  Masonic  ritual,  but  the  Masonic  philosophy,  whose 
origin  we  are  to  investigate,  the  next  question  naturally 
relates  to  the  peculiar  nature  of  that  philosophy. 

Now,  then,  I  contend  that  the  philosophy  of  Freema 
sonry  is  engaged  in  the  contemplation  of  the  divine  and 
human  character ;  of  GOD  as  one  eternal,  self-existent 
being,  in  contradiction  to  the  mythology  of  the  ancient 
peoples,  which  was  burdened  with  a  multitude  of  gods 
and  goddesses,  of  demigods  and  heroes  ;  of  MAN  as  an 
immortal  being,  preparing  in  the  present  life  for  an  eter 
nal  future,  in  like  contradiction  to  the  ancient  philosophy, 
which  circumscribed  the  existence  of  man  to  the  pres 
ent  life. 

These  two  doctrines,  then,  of  the  unity  of  God  and  the 


12  THE    ORIGIN   AND    PROGRESS 

immortality  of  the  soul,  constitute  the  philosophy  of  Free 
masonry.  When  we  wish  to  define  it  succinctly,  we  say 
that  it  is  an  ancient  system  of  philosophy  which  teaches 
these  two  dogmas.  And  hence,  if,  amid  the  intellectual 
darkness  and  debasement  of  the  old  polytheistic  religions, 
we  find  interspersed  here  and  there,  in  all  ages,  certain 
institutions  or  associations  which  taught  these  truths,  and 
that,  in  a  particular  way,  allegorically  and  symbolically, 
then  we  have  a  right  to  say  that  such  institutions  or 
associations  were  the  incunabula  —  the  predecessors  — 
of  the  Masonic  institution  as  it  now  exists. 

With  these  preliminary  remarks  the  reader  will  be 
enabled  to  enter  upon  the  consideration  of  that  theory 
of  the  origin  of  Freemasonry  which  I  advance  in  the 
following  propositions :  — 

1.  In  the  first  place,  I  contend  that  in  the  very  earliest 
ages    of    the   world    there  were    existent    certain    truths 
of  vast  importance  to  the  welfare   and   happiness  of  hu 
manity,    which     had    been    communicated,  —  no    matter 
how,  but,  —  most   probably,   by   direct  inspiration    from 
God  to  man. 

2.  These    truths    principally  consisted   in  the   abstract 
propositions  of  the  unity  of  God  and  the  immortality  of 
the  soul.     Of  the  truth  of  these  two  propositions  there 
cannot  be  a  reasonable  doubt.     The  belief  in  these  truths 
is   a   necessary   consequence  of  that  religious   sentiment 
which  has  always  formed  an  essential  feature  of  human 
nature.     Man  is,  emphatically,  and  in  distinction  from  all 
other   creatures,  a   religious   animal.     Gross   commences 
his  interesting  work  on   "  The   Heathen  Religion  in  its 
Popular  and  Symbolical  Development"  by  the  statement 
that    "  one   of  the   most  remarkable   phenomena   of  the 


OF    FREEMASONRY.  1 3 

human  race  is  the  universal  existence  of  religious  ideas  — 
a  belief  in  something  supernatural  and  divine,  and  a 
worship  corresponding  to  it."  As  nature  had  implanted 
the  religious  sentiment,  the  same  nature  must  have  di 
rected  it  in  a  proper  channel.  The  belief  and  the  wor 
ship  must  at  first  have  been  as  pure  as  the  fountain  whence 
they  flowed,  although,  in  subsequent  times,  and  before  the 
advent  of  Christian  light,  the}'  may  both  have  been  cor 
rupted  by  the  influence  of  the  priests  and  the  poets  over 
an  ignorant  and  superstitious  people.  The  first  and  sec 
ond  propositions  of  my  theory  refer  only  to  that  primeval 
period  which  was  antecedent  to  these  corruptions,  of 
which  I  shall  hereafter  speak. 

3.  These   truths  of  God   and    immortality  were   most 
probably  handed   down    through    the   line  of  patriarchs 
of   the  race  of  Seth,   but  were,  at  all  events,  known  to 
Noah,  and  were  by  him  communicated  to  his  immediate 
descendants. 

4.  In    consequence    of  this    communication,    the    true 
worship  of  God  continued,  for  some  time  after  the  sub 
sidence  of  the  deluge,  to  be  cultivated  by  the  Noachidae, 
the  Noachites,  or  the  descendants  of  Noah. 

5.  At  a  subsequent  period  (no  matter  when,  but  the 
biblical  record  places  it  at  the  attempted  building  of  the 
tower  of  Babel),  there  was  a  secession  of  a  large  number 
of  the  human  race  from  the  Noachites. 

6.  These  seceders  rapidly  lost  sight  of  the  divine  truths 
which  had  been  communicated  to  them  from  their  com 
mon  ancestor,  and  fell  into  the  most  grievous  theological 
errors,    corrupting   the    purity  of  the   worship    and    the 
orthodoxy  of  the  religious  faith  which  they  had  prima 
rily  received. 


14  THE    ORIGIN    AND    PROGRESS 

7.  These   truths  were   preserved   in   their  integrity  by 
but  a  very  few  in  the  patriarchal  line,  while  still  fewer 
were    enabled  to  retain  only  dim    and    glimmering  por 
tions  of  the  true  light. 

8.  The  first  class  was  confined  to  the  direct  descend 
ants  of  Noah,  and  the    second  was  to  be  found  among 
the    priests    and    philosophers,    and,   perhaps,  still  later, 
among  the    poets    of   the    heathen    nations,    and    among 
those  whom  they  initiated  into  the  secrets  of  these  truths. 
Of  the  prevalence  of  these  religious    truths    among  the 
patriarchal  descendants  of  Noah,    we    have    ample    evi 
dence    in    the    sacred    records.       As    to    their    existence 
among  a  body  of   learned   heathens,  we  have   the    testi 
mony  of  many  intelligent  writers  who  have  devoted  their 
energies    to    this    subject.      Thus    the  learned    Grote,  in 
his  u  History  of  Greece,"  says,    "  The  allegorical  inter 
pretation    of    the    myths    has    been,    by    several    learned 
investigators,  especially  by  Creuzer,  connected  with  the 
hypothesis  of  an   ancient  and  highly  instructed  body 
of  priests,  having  their  origin  either  in  Egypt  or  in  the 
East,    and    communicating   to    the    rude    and    barbarous 
Greeks    religious,    physical,    and    historical    knowledge, 
under  the  veil  of  symbols."      What  is  here  said  only 
of  the  Greeks   is  equally  applicable  to  every  other  intel 
lectual  nation  of  antiquity. 

9.  The  system  or  doctrine  of  the  former  class  has  been 
called  by  Masonic  writers  the  "  Pure  or  Primitive  Free 
masonry  "   of  antiquity,  and  that  of  the  latter  class  the 
"  Spurious   Freemasonry "    of  the  same    period.     These 
terms  were   first  used,   if  I   mistake   -lot,  by  Dr.  Oliver, 
and  are   intended   to  refer  —  the  word  pure  to  the  doc 
trines  taught  by  the  descendants  of  Noah  in  the  Jewish 


OF    FREEMASONRY.  15 

line,   and   the  word  spurious  to  his   descendants  in  the 
heathen  or  Gentile  line. 

10.  The    masses  of  the   people,  among   the    Gentiles 
especially,   were    totally    unacquainted    with    this   divine 
truth,  which  was  the  foundation  stone  of  both  species  of 
Freemasonry,  the  pure  and  the  spurious,  and  were  deeply 
immersed  in  the  errors  and  falsities  of  heathen  belief  and 
worship. 

11.  These    errors   of   the  heathen    religions  were  not 
the  voluntary  inventions  of  the   peoples  who   cultivated 
them,  but  were  gradual  and  almost  unavoidable  corrup 
tions  of  the    truths   which   had  been  at  first    taught   by 
Noah  ;  and,  indeed,  so  palpable  are  these  corruptions,  that 
they  can   be  readily  detected   and   traced  to  the  original 
form  from  which,  however  much  they  might  vary  among 
different  peoples,  they  had,  at  one  time  or  another,  devi 
ated.     Thus,  in  the  life  and  achievements  of  Bacchus  or 
Dionysus,  we  find  the  travestied  counterpart  of  the  career 
of  Moses,  and   in   the   name  of  Vulcan,   the   blacksmith 
god,  we  evidently  see  an  etymological  corruption  of  the 
appellation  of  Tubal  Cain,  the  first  artificer   in   metals. 
For  Vul-can  is  but  a  modified  form  of  Baal- Cain,  the 
god  Cain. 

12.  But  those  among  the  masses  —  and  there  were  some 
—  who  were  made  acquainted  with  the  truth,  received  their 
knowledge  by  means  of  an  initiation  into  certain  sacred 
Mysteries,  in  the  bosom  of  which  it  was  concealed  from 
the  public  gaze. 

13.  These  Mysteries  existed  in  every  country  of  hea 
thendom,  in   each  under  a  different  name,  and    to  some 
extent  under  a  different  form,  but  always  and  everywhere 
with  the   same  design  of  inculcating,  by  allegorical  and 


1 6  THE    ORIGIN    AND    PROGRESS 

symbolic  teachings,  the  great  Masonic  doctrines  of  the 
unity  of  God  and  the  immortality  of  the  soul.  This  is 
an  important  proposition,  and  the  fact  which  it  enunciates 
must  never  be  lost  sight  of  in  any  inquiry  into  the  origin 
of  Freemasonry  ;  for  the  pagan  Mysteries  were  to  the 
spurious  Freemasonry  of  antiquity  precisely  what  the 
Masters'  lodges  are  to  the  Freemasonry  of  the  present 
day.  It  is  needless  to  offer  any  proof  of  their  existence, 
since  this  is  admitted  and  continually  referred  to  by  all 
historians,  ancient  and  modern  ;  and  to  discuss  minutely 
their  character  and  organization  would  occupy  a  distinct 
treatise.  The  Baron  de  Sainte  Croix  has  written  two 
large  volumes  on  the  subject,  and  yet  left  it  unexhausted. 

14.  These    two    divisions  of  the   Masonic    Institution 
which  were  defined  in  the  9th  proposition,  namely,  the 
pure  or  primitive    Freemasonry  among  the  Jewish    de 
scendants  of  the  patriarchs,  who  are  called,  by  way  of 
distinction,  the   Noachites,  or  descendants  of  Noah,  be 
cause  they  bad  not  forgotten  nor  abandoned  the  teachings 
of  their  great  ancestor,  and    the    spurious  Freemasonry 
practised    among  the    pagan    nations,   flowed    down  the 
stream  of  time  in  parallel  currents,  often  near  together, 
but  never  commingling. 

15.  But  these  two  currents  were  not  always  to  be  kept 
apart,  for,  springing,  in  the  long  anterior  ages,  from  one 
common  fountain,  —  that  ancient  priesthood  of  whom  I 
have  already  spoken  in  the  8th  proposition,  —  and  then 
dividing    into    the    pure    and    spurious  Freemasonry    of 
antiquity,   and    remaining    separated   for    centuries   upon 
centuries,  they  at  length  met  at  the  building  of  the  great 
temple   of  Jerusalem,  and  were  united,   in    the    instance 
of  the   Israelites  under  King   Solomon,  and  the  Tyrians 


OF   FREEMASONRY.  17 

under  Hiram,  King  of  Tyre,  and  Hiram  Abif.  The 
spurious  Freemasonry,  it  is  true,  did  not  then  and  there 
cease  to  exist.  On  the  contrary,  it  lasted  for  centuries 
subsequent  to  this  period  ;  for  it  was  not  until  long  after, 
and  in  the  reign  of  the  Emperor  Theodosius,  that  the 
pagan  Mysteries  were  finally  and  totally  abolished.  But 
by  the  union  of  the  Jewish  or  pure  Freemasons  and  the 
Tyrian  or  spurious  Freemasons  at  Jerusalem,  there  was  a 
mutual  infusion  of  their  respective  doctrines  and  ceremo 
nies,  which  eventually  terminated  in  the  abolition  of  the 
two  distinctive  systems  and  the  establishment  of  a  new 
one,  that  may  be  considered  as  the  immediate  prototype 
of  the  present  institution.  Hence  many  Masonic  stu 
dents,  going  no  farther  back  in  their  investigations  than 
the  facts  announced  in  this  I5th  proposition,  are  content 
to  find  the  origin  of  Freemasonry  at  the  temple  of  Solo 
mon.  But  if  my  theory  be  correct,  the  truth  is,  that  it 
there  received,  not  its  birth,  but  only  a  new  modification 
of  its  character.  The  legend  of  the  third  degree  —  the 
golden  legend,  the  legenda  aurea  —  of  Masonry  was 
there  adopted  by  pure  Freemasonry,  which  before  had 
no  such  legend,  from  spurious  Freemasonry.  But  the 
legend  had  existed  under  other  names  and  forms,  in  all 
the  Mysteries,  for  ages  before.  The  doctrine  of  immor 
tality,  which  had  hitherto  been  taught  by  the  Noachites 
simply  as  an  abstract  proposition,  wras  thenceforth  to  be 
inculcated  by  a  symbolic  lesson  —  the  symbol  of  Hiram 
the  Builder  was  to  become  forever  after  the  distinctive 
feature  of  Freemasonry. 

16.    But  another  important  modification  was  effected  in 
the  Masonic  system  at  the  building  of  the  temple.     Pre 
vious  to  the  union  which  then  took  place,  the  pure  Free- 
2 


1 8  THE    ORIGIN    AND    PROGRESS 

masonry  of  the  Noachites  had  always  been  speculative, 
but  resembled  the  present  organization  in  no  other  way 
than  in  the  cultivation  of  the  same  abstract  principles  of 
divine  truth. 

17.  The  Tyrians,  on  the  contrary,  were  architects  vry 
profession,   and,   as   their   leaders  were   disciples  of   the 
school   of  the   spurious  Freemasonry,  they,  for   the  first 
time,  at  the  temple  of  Solomon,  when  they  united  with 
their  Jewish  contemporaries,  infused  into  the  speculative 
science,  which  was  practised  by  the  latter,  the  elements 
of  an  operative  art. 

1 8.  Therefore  the  system  continued  thenceforward,  for 
ages,  to  present   the  commingled   elements  of  operative 
and  speculative  Masonry.     We  see  this  in  the  Collegia 
Fabrorum,  or  Colleges  of  Artificers,  first  established  at 
Rome  by  Numa,  and  which  were  certainly  of  a  Masonic 
form  in  their  organization  ;  in  the  Jewish  sect  of  the  Es- 
senes,   who   wrought  as   well    as    prayed,   and   who    are 
claimed  to  have  been  the  descendants  of  the  temple  build 
ers,  and  also,  and  still  more  prominently,  in  the  Travelling 
Freemasons  of  the  middle  ages,  who  identify  themselves 
by  their  very  name  with   their   modern   successors,   and 
whose    societies    were    composed    of   learned    men  who 
thought  and  wrote,  and  of  workmen  who   labored   and 
built.     And  so  for  a  long  time  Freemasonry  continued  to 
be  both  operative  and  speculative. 

19.  But  another  change  was  to  be  effected  in  the  insti 
tution  to  make  it  precisely  what  it  now  is,  and,  therefore, 
at  a  very    recent    period    (comparatively   speaking),  the 
operative   feature  was  abandoned,  and   Freemasonry  be 
came  wholly  speculative.     The  exact  time  of  this  change 
is  not  left  to   conjecture.     It  took  place  in  the  reign  of 


OF    FREEMASONRY.  19 

Queen  Anne,  of  England,  in  the  beginning  of  the  eigh 
teenth  century.  Preston  gives  us  the  very  words  of  the 
decree  which  established  this  change,  for  he  says  that  at 
that  time  it  was  agreed  to  "  that  the  privileges  of  Masonry 
should  no  longer  be  restricted  to  operative  Masons,  but 
extend  to  men  of  various  professions,  provided  they  were 
regularly  approved  and  initiated  into  the  order." 

The  nineteen  propositions  here  announced  contain  a 
brief  but  succinct  view  of  the  progress  of  Freemasonry 
from  its  origin  in  the  early  ages  of  the  world,  simply  as  a 
system  of  religious  philosophy,  through  all  the  modifica 
tions  to  which  it  was  submitted  in  the  Jewish  and  Gentile 
races,  until  at  length  it  was  developed  in  its  present  per 
fected  form.  During  all  this  time  it  preserved  unchange 
ably  certain  features  that  may  hence  be  considered  as  its 
specific  characteristics,  by  which  it  has  always  been  dis 
tinguished  from  every  other  contemporaneous  association, 
however  such  association  may  have  simulated  it  in  out 
ward  form.  These  characteristics  are,  first,  the  doctrines 
which  it  has  constantly  taught,  namely,  that  of  the  unity 
of  God  and  that  of  the  immortality  of  the  soul ;  and,  sec 
ondly,  the  manner  in  which  these  doctrines  have  been 
taught,  namely,  by  symbols  and  allegories. 

Taking  these  characteristics  as  the  exponents  of  what 
Freemasonry  is,  we  cannot  help  arriving  at  the  conclu 
sion  that  the  speculative  Masonry  of  the  present  day  ex 
hibits  abundant  evidence  of  the  identity  of  its  origin  with 
the  spurious  Freemasonry  of  the  ante-Solomonic  period, 
both  systems  coining  from  the  same  pure  source,  but  the 
one  always  preserving,  and  the  other  continually  corrupt 
ing,  the  purity  of  the  common  fountain.  This  is  also  the 
necessary  conclusion  as  a  corollary  from  the  propositions 
advanced  in  this  essay. 


20  THE    ORIGIN    AND    PROGRESS 

There  is  also  abundant  evidence  in  the  history,  of  which 
these  propositions  are  but  a  meagre  outline,  that  a  mani 
fest  influence  was  exerted  on  the  pure  or  primitive  Free 
masonry  of  the  Noachites  by  the  Tyrian  branch  of  the 
spurious  system,  in  the  symbols,  myths,  and  legends 
which  the  former  received  from  the  latter,  but  which  it  so 
modified  and  interpreted  as  to  make  them  consistent  with 
its  own  religious  system.  One  thing,  at  least,  is  inca 
pable  of  refutation ;  and  that  is,  that  we  are  indebted  to 
the  Tyrian  Masons  for  the  introduction  of  the  symbol  of 
Hiram  Abif.  The  idea  of  the  symbol,  although  modified 
by  the  Jewish  Masons,  is  not  Jewish  in  its  inception.  It 
was  evidently  borrowed  from  the  pagan  mysteries,  where 
Bacchus,  Adonis,  Proserpine,  and  a  host  of  other  apothe 
osized  beings  play  the  same  role  that  Hiram  does  in  the 
Masonic  mysteries. 

And  lastly,  we  find  in  the  technical  terms  of  Masonry, 
in  its  working  tools,  in  the  names  of  its  grades,  and  in 
a  large  majority  of  its  symbols,  ample  testimony  of  the 
strong  infusion  into  its  religious  philosophy  of  the  ele 
ments  of  an  operative  art.  And  history  again  explains 
this  fact  by  referring  to  the  connection  of  the  institution 
with  the  Dionysiac  Fraternity  of  Artificers,  who  were  en 
gaged  in  building  the  temple  of  Solomon,  with  the  Work 
men's  Colleges  of  Numa,  and  with  the  Travelling  Free 
masons  of  the  middle  ages,  who  constructed  all  the  great 
buildings  of  that  period. 

These  nineteen  propositions,  which  have  been  submit 
ted  in  the  present  essay,  constitute  a  brief  summary  or 
outline  of  a  theory  of  the  true  origin  of  Freemasonry, 
which  long  and  patient  investigation  has  led  me  to  adopt. 
To  attempt  to  prove  the  truth  of  each  of  these  proposi- 


OF    FREEMASONRY.  21 

tions  in  its  order  by  logical  demonstration,  or  by  histori 
cal  evidence,  would  involve  the  writing  of  an  elaborate 
treatise.  They  are  now  offered  simply  as  suggestions  on 
which  the  Masonic  student  may  ponder.  They  are  but 
intended  as  guide-posts,  which  may  direct  him  in  his 
journey  should  he  undertake  the  pleasant  although  diffi 
cult  task  of  instituting  an  inquiry  into  the  origin  and  prog 
ress  of  Freemasonry  from  its  birth  to  its  present  state  of 
full-grown  manhood. 

But  even  in  this  abridged  form  they  are  absolutely  ne 
cessary  as  preliminary  to  any  true  understanding  of  the 
symbolism  of  Freemasonry. 


II 


THE    NOACHID^E. 

PROCEED,  then,  to  inquire  into  the  historical 
origin  of  Freemasonry,  as  a  necessary  introduc 
tion  to  any  inquiry  into  the  character  of  its  sym 
bolism.  To  do  this,  with  any  expectation  of 
rendering  justice  to  the  subject,  it  is  evident  that  I  shall 
have  to  take  my  point  of  departure  at  a  very  remote  era. 
I  shall,  however,  review  the  early  and  antecedent  histo 
ry  of  the  institution  with  as  much  brevity  as  a  distinct 
understanding  of  the  subject  will  admit. 

Passing  over  all  that  is  within  the  antediluvian  history 
of  the  world,  as  something  that  exerted,  so  far  as  our  sub 
ject  is  concerned,  no  influence  on  the  new  world  which 
sprang  forth  from  the  ruins  of  the  old,  we  find,  soon  after 
the  cataclysm,  the  immediate  descendants  of  Noah  in  the 
possession  of  at  least  two  religious  truths,  which  they 
received  from  their  common  father,  and  which  he  must 
have  derived  from  the  line  of  patriarchs  who  preceded 
him.  These  truths  were  the  doctrine  of  the  existence  of 
a  Supreme  Intelligence,  the  Creator,  Preserver,  and  Ruler 
of  the  Universe,  and,  as  a  necessary  corollary,  the  belief 


THE     NOACHID^E.  23 

in  the  immortality  of  the  soul,*  which,  as  an  emanation 
from  that  primal  cause,  was  to  be  distinguished,  by  a 
future  and  eternal  life,  from  the  vile  and  perishable  dust 
which  forms  its  earthly  tabernacle. 

The  assertion  that  these  doctrines  were  known  to  and 
recognized  by  Noah  will  not  appear  as  an  assumption 
to  the  believer  in  divine  revelation.  But  any  philosophic 
mind  must,  I  conceive,  come  to  the  same  conclusion, 
independently  of  any  other  authority  than  that  of  reason. 

The  religious  sentiment,  so  far,  at  least,  as  it  relates  to 
the  belief  in  the  existence  of  God,  appears  to  be  in  some 
sense  innate,  or  instinctive,  and  consequently  universal  in 
the  human  mind."}*  There  is  no  record  of  any  nation, 
however  intellectually  and  morally  debased,  that  has  not 
given  some  evidence  of  a  tendency  to  such  belief.  The 
sentiment  may  be  perverted,  the  idea  may  be  grossly  cor 
rupted,  but  it  is  nevertheless  there,  and  shows  the  source 
whence  it  sprang.j 

*  "  The  doctrine  of  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  if  it  is  a  real 
advantage,  follows  unavoidably  from  the  idea  of  God.  The  best 
Being,  he  must  •will  the  best  of  good  things ;  the  wisest,  he  must 
devise  plans  for  that  effect;  the  most  •powerful,  he  must  bring  it 
about.  None  can  deny  this."  —  THEO.  PARKER,  Discourse  of 
Matters  pertaining  to  Religion,  b.  ii.  ch.  viii.  p.  205. 

t  "This  institution  of  religion,  like  society,  friendship,  and  mar 
riage,  comes  out  of  a  principle,  deep  and  permanent  in  the  heart: 
as  humble,  and  transient,  and  partial  institutions  come  out  of 
humble,  transient,  and  partial  wants,  and  are  to  be  traced  to  the 
senses  and  the  phenomena  of  life,  so  this  sublime,  permanent, 
and  useful  institution  came  out  from  sublime,  permanent,  and 
universal  wants,  and  must  be  referred  to  the  soul,  and  the  un 
changing  realities  of  life."  —  PARKER,  Discourse  of  Religion,  b.  i. 
ch.  i.  p.  14. 

J  "  The  sages  of  all  nations,  ages,  and  religions  had  some  ideas 
of  these  sublime  doctrines,  though  more  or  less  degraded,  adul- 


24  THE    NOACHID^E. 

Even  in  the  most  debased  forms  of  fetichism,  where 
the  negro  kneels  in  reverential  awe  before  the  shrine  of 
some  uncouth  and  misshapen  idol,  which  his  own  hands, 
perhaps,  have  made,  the  act  of  adoration,  degrading  as 
the  object  may  be,  is  nevertheless  an  acknowledgment  of 
the  longing  need  of  the  worshipper  to  throw  himself  upon 
the  support  of  some  unknown  power  higher  than  his  own 
sphere.  And  this  unknown  power,  be  it  what  it  may,  is 
to  him  a  God.* 

But  just  as  universal  has  been  the  belief  in  the  immor 
tality  of  the  soul.  This  arises  from  the  same  longing  in 
man  for  the  infinite  ;  and  although,  like  the  former  doc 
trine,  it  has  been  perverted  and  corrupted,  there  exists 
among  all  nations  a  tendency  to  its  acknowledgment. 
Every  people,  from  the  remotest  times,  have  wandered 
involuntarily  into  the  ideal  of  another  world,  and  sought 
to  find  a  place  for  their  departed  spirits.  The  deification 
of  the  dead,  man-worship,  or  hero-worship,  the  next 
development  of  the  religious  idea  after  fetichism,  was 
simply  an  acknowledgment  of  the  belief  in  a  future  life  ; 


terated  and  obscured ;  and  these  scattered  hints  and  vestiges  of 
the  most  sacred  and  exalted  truths  were  originally  rays  and  ema 
nations  of  ancient  and  primitive  traditions,  handed  down  from 
generation  to  generation,  since  the  beginning  of  the  world,  or  at 
least  since  the  fall  of  man,  to  all  mankind."  —  CHEV.  RAMSAY, 
Philos.  Princ.  of  Nat.  and  Rev.  Relig.,  vol.  ii.  p.  8. 

*  "  In  this  form,  not  only  the  common  objects  above  enumerated, 
but  gems,  metals,  stones  that  fell  from  heaven,  images,  carved  bits 
of  wood,  stuffed  skins  of  beasts,  like  the  medicine-bags  of  the 
North  American  Indians,  are  reckoned  as  divinities,  and  so 
become  objects  of  adoration.  But  in  this  case,  the  visible  object 
is  idealized;  not  worshipped  as  the  brute  thing  really  is,  but  as 
the  type  and  symbol  of  God." — PARKER,  Disc,  of  Relig.,  b.  i. 
ch.  v.  p.  50. 


THE     NOACHID^E.  25 

for  the  dead  could  not  have  been  deified  unless  after  death 
they  had  continued  to  live.  The  adoration  of  a  putrid 
carcass  would  have  been  a  form  of  fetich  ism  lower  and 
more  degrading  than  any  that  has  yet  been  discovered. 
But  man-worship  came  after  fetichism.  It  was  a  higher 
development  of  the  religious  sentiment,  and  included  a 
possible  hope  for,  if  not  a  positive  belief  in,  a  future  life. 

Reason,  then,  as  well  as  revelation,  leads  us  irresistibly 
to  the  conclusion  that  these  two  doctrines  prevailed  among 
the  descendants  of  Noah,  immediately  after  the  deluge. 
They  were  believed,  too,  in  all  their  purity  and  integrity, 
because  they  were  derived  from  the  highest  and  purest 
source. 

These  are  the  doctrines  which  still  constitute  the  creed 
of  Freemasonry  ;  and  hence  one  of  the  names  bestowed 
upon  the  Freemasons  from  the  earliest  times  was  that  of 
the  "  Noachidce"  or  "Noachites"  that  is  to  say,  the 
descendants  of  Noah,  and  the  transmitters  of  his  religious 
dogmas. 


III. 

THE  PRIMITIVE   FREEMASONRY  OF  ANTIQUITY. 


next  important  historical  epoch  which  de- 
mands  our  attention  is  that  connected  with  what, 
in  sacred  history,  is  known  as  the  dispersion  at 
Babel.  The  brightness  of  truth,  as  it  had  been  com 
municated  by  Noah,  became  covered,  as  it  were,  with  a 
cloud.  The  dogmas  of  the  unity  of  God  and  the  im 
mortality  of  the  soul  were  lost  sight  of,  and  the  first  devia 
tion  from  the  true  worship  occurred  in  the  establishment 
of  Sabianism,  or  the  worship  of  the  sun,  moon,  and  stars, 
among  some  peoples,  and  the  deification  of  men  among 
others.  Of  these  two  deviations,  Sabianism,  or  sun-wor 
ship,  was  both  the  earlier  and  the  more  generally  dif 
fused.*  "  It  seems,"  says  the  learned  Owen,  "  to  have 

*  A  recent  writer  thus  eloquently  refers  to  the  universality,  in  an 
cient  times,  of  sun-worship  :  "  Sabaism,  the  worship  of  light,  pre 
vailed  amongst  all  the  leading  nations  of  the  early  world.  By  the 
rivers  of  India,  on  the  mountains  of  Persia,  in  the  plains  of  As 
syria,  early  mankind  thus  adored,  the  higher  spirits  in  each  coun 
try  rising  in  spiritual  thought  from  the  solar  orb  up  to  Him  whose 
vicegerent  it  seems  —  to  the  Sun  of  all  being,  whose  divine  light 
irradiates  and  purifies  the  world  of  soul,  as  the  solar  radiance  does 
the  world  of  sense.  Egypt,  too,  though  its  faith  be  but  dimly 


THE    PRIMITIVE    FREEMASONRY    OF    ANTIOJJITY.         2j 

had  its  rise  from  some  broken  traditions  conveyed  by  the 
patriarchs  touching  the  dominion  of  the  sun  by  day  and 
of  the  moon  by  night."  The  mode  in  which  this  old 
system  has  been  modified  and  spiritually  symbolized  by 
Freemasonry  will  be  the  subject  of  future  consideration. 

But  Sabianism,  while  it  was  the  most  ancient  of  the 
religious  corruptions,  was,  I  have  said,  also  the  most 
generally  diffused  ;  and  hence,  even  among  nations  which 
afterwards  adopted  the  polytheistic  creed  of  deified  men 
and  factitious  gods,  this  ancient  sun-worship  is  seen  to  be 
continually  exerting  its  influences.  Thus,  among  the 
Greeks,  the  most  refined  people  that  cultivated  hero- 
worship,  Hercules  was  the  sun,  and  the  mythologic 
fable  of  his  destroying  with  his  arrows  the  many-headed 
hydra  of  the  Lernasan  marshes  was  but  an  allegory  to 
denote  the  dissipation  of  paludal  malaria  by  the  purifying 
rays  of  the  orb  of  day.  Among  the  Egyptians,  too,  the 
chief  deity,  Osiris,  was  but  another  name  for  the  sun, 

known  to  us,  joined  in  this  worship;  Syria  raised  her  grand  tem 
ples  to  the  sun  ;  the  joyous  Greeks  sported  with  the  thought  while 
feeling  it,  almost  hiding  it  under  the  mythic  individuality  which 
their  lively  fancy  superimposed  upon  it.  Even  prosaic  China 
makes  offerings  to  the  yellow  orb  of  day ;  the  wandering  Celts  and 
Teutons  held  feasts  to  it,  amidst  the  primeval  forests  of  Northern 
Europe;  and,  with  a  savagery  characteristic  of  the  American  abo 
rigines,  the  sun  temples  of  Mexico  streamed  with  human  blood  in 
honor  of  the  beneficent  orb." —  The  Castes  and  Creeds  of  India, 
Blackw.  Mag.,  vol.  Ixxxi.  p.  317.  —  "There  is  no  people  whose 
religion  is  known  to  us,"  says  the  Abbe  Banier,  "  neither  in  our 
own  continent  nor  in  that  of  America,  that  has  not  paid  the  sun 
a  religious  worship,  if  we  except  some  inhabitants  of  the  torrid 
zone,  who  are  continually  cursing  the  sun  for  scorching  them  with 
his  beams."  —  Mythology,  lib.  iii.  ch.  iii. —  Macrobius,  in  his  Satur 
nalia,  undertakes  to  prove  that  all  the  gods  of  Paganism  may  be 
reduced  to  the  sun. 


28        THE    PRIMITIVE    FREEMASONRY    OF    ANTIQUITY. 

while  his  arch-enemy  and  destroyer,  Typhon,  was  the 
typification  of  night,  or  darkness.  And  lastly,  among 
the  Hindus,  the  three  manifestations  of  their  supreme 
deity,  Brahma,  Siva,  and  Vishnu,  were  symbols  of  the 
rising,  meridian,  and  setting  sun. 

This  early  and  very  general  prevalence  of  the  senti 
ment  of  sun-worship  is  worthy  of  especial  attention  on 
account  of  the  influence  that  it  exercised  over  the 
spurious  Freemasonry  of  antiquity,  of  which  I  am  soon 
to  speak,  and  which  is  still  felt,  although  modified  and 
Christianized  in  our  modern  system.  Many,  indeed 
nearly  all,  of  the  masonic  symbols  of  the  present  day 
can  only  be  thoroughly  comprehended  and  properly 
appreciated  by  this  reference  to  sun-worship. 

This  divine  truth,  then,  of  the  existence  of  one  Su 
preme  God,  the  Grand  Architect  of  the  Universe,  symbol 
ized  in  Freemasonry  as  the  TRUE  WORD,  was  lost  to  the 
Sabians  and  to  the  polytheists  who  arose  after  the  dis 
persion  at  Babel,  and  with  it  also  disappeared  the  doc 
trine  of  a  future  life  ;  and  hence,  in  one  portion  of  the 
masonic  ritual,  in  allusion  to  this  historic  fact,  we  speak 
of  "  the  lofty  tower  of  Babel,  where  language  was  con 
founded  and  Masonry  lost." 

There  were,  however,  some  of  the  builders  on  the 
plain  of  Shinar  who  preserved  these  great  religious  and 
masonic  doctrines  of  the  unity  of  God  and  the  immortal 
ity  of  the  soul  in  their  pristine  purity.  These  were  the 
patriarchs,  in  whose  venerable  line  they  continued  to  be 
taught.  Hence,  years  after  the  dispersion  of  the  nations 
at  Babel,  the  world  presented  two  great  religious  sects, 
passing  onward  down  the  stream  of  time,  side  by  side, 


THE    PRIMITIVE    FREEMASONRY    OF    ANTIOJjrTY.         29 

yet  as  diverse  from  each  other  as  light  from  darkness,  and 
truth  from  falsehood. 

One  of  these  lines  of  religious  thought  and  sentiment 
was  the  idolatrous  and  pagan  world.  With  it  all 
masonic  doctrine,  at  least  in  its  purity,  was  extinct, 
although  there  mingled  with  it,  and  at  times  to  some 
extent  influenced  it,  an  offshoot  from  the  other  line,  to 
which  attention  will  be  soon  directed. 

The  second  of  these  lines  consisted,  as  has  already 
been  said,  of  the  patriarchs  and  priests,  who  preserved  in 
all  their  purity  the  two  great  masonic  doctrines  of  the 
unity  of  God  and  the  immortality  of  the  soul. 

This  line  embraced,  then,  what,  in  the  language  of 
recent  masonic  writers,  has  been  designated  as  the 
Primitive  Freemasonry  of  Antiquity. 

Now,  it  is  by  no  means  intended  to  advance  any  such 
gratuitous  and  untenable  theory  as  that  proposed  by 
some  imaginative  writers,  that  the  Freemasonry  of  the 
patriarchs  was  in  its  organization,  its  ritual,  or  its  symbol 
ism,  like  the  system  which  now  exists.  We  know  not, 
indeed,  that  it  had  a  ritual,  or  even  a  symbolism.  I  am 
inclined  to  think  that  it  was  made  up  of  abstract  proposi 
tions,  derived  from  antediluvian  traditions.  Dr.  Oliver 
thinks  it  probable  that  there  were  a  few  symbols  among 
these  Primitive  and  Pure  Freemasons,  and  he  enumerates 
among  them  the  serpent,  the  triangle,  and  the  point 
within  a  circle  ;  but  I  can  find  no  authority  for  the  sup 
position,  nor  do  I  think  it  fair  to  claim  for  the  order  more 
than  it  is  fairly  entitled  to,  nor  more  than  it  can  be  fairly 
proved  to  possess.  When  Anderson  calls  Moses  a  Grand 
Master,  Joshua  his  Deputy,  and  Aholiab  and  Bezaleel 


30        THE    PRIMITIVE    FREEMASONRY    OF    ANTIQUITY. 

Grand  Wardens,  the  expression  is  to  be  looked  upon 
simply  as  a  fcu;on  de  parler,  a  mode  of  speech  entirely 
figurative  in  its  character,  and  by  no  means  intended  to 
convey  the  idea  which  is  entertained  in  respect  to  officers 
of  that  character  in  the  present  system.  It  would,  un 
doubtedly,  however,  have  been  better  that  such  language 
should  not  have  been  used. 

All  that  can  be  claimed  for  the  system  of  Primitive 
Freemasonry,  as  practised  by  the  patriarchs,  is,  that  it 
embraced  and  taught  the  two  great  dogmas  of  Free 
masonry,  namely,  the  unity  of  God,  and  the  immortality 
of  the  soul.  It  may  be,  and  indeed  it  is  highly  proba 
ble,  that  there  was  a  secret  doctrine,  and  that  this  doc 
trine  was  not  indiscriminately  communicated.  We  know 
that  Moses,  who  was  necessarily  the  recipient  of  the 
knowledge  of  his  predecessors,  did  not  publicly  teach  the 
doctrine  of  the  immortality  of  the  soul.  But  there  was 
among  the  Jews  an  oral  or  secret  law  which  was  never 
committed  to  writing  until  after  the  captivity  ;  and  this 
law,  I  suppose,  may  have  contained  the  recognition  of 
those  dogmas  of  the  Primitive  Freemasonry. 

Briefly,  then,  this  system  of  Primitive  Freemasonry, — 
without  ritual  or  symbolism,  that  has  come  down  to  us, 
at  least,  —  consisting  solely  of  traditionary  legends,  teach 
ing  only  the  two  great  truths  already  alluded  to,  and 
being  wholly  speculative  in  its  character,  without  the 
slightest  infusion  of  an  operative  element,  was  regularly 
transmitted  through  the  Jewish  line  of  patriarchs,  priests, 
and  kings,  without  alteration,  increase,  or  diminution,  to 
the  time  of  Solomon,  and  the  building  of  the  temple  at 
Jerusalem. 

Leaving  it,  then,  to  pursue  this  even  course  of  descent, 


THE    PRIMITIVE    FREEMASONRY   OF   ANTIOJJITY.        31 

let  us  refer  once  more  to  that  other  line  of  religious 
history,  the  one  passing  through  the  idolatrous  and 
polytheistic  nations  of  antiquity,  and  trace  from  it  the 
regular  rise  and  progress  of  another  division  of  the 
masonic  institution,  which,  by  way  of  distinction,  has 
oeen  called  the  Spurious  Freemasonry  of  Antiquity* 


IV. 

THE  SPURIOUS  FREEMASONRY  OF  ANTIQUITY. 

the  vast  but  barren  desert  of  polytheism  —  dark 
and  dreary  as  were  its  gloomy  domains  —  there 
were  still,  however,  to  be  found  some  few  oases 
of  truth.  The  philosophers  and  sages  of  antiquity 
had,  in  the  course  of  their  learned  researches,  aided  by  the 
light  of  nature,  discovered  something  of  those  inestimable 
truths  in  relation  to  God  and  a  future  state  which  their 
patriarchal  contemporaries  had  received  as  a  revelation 
made  to  their  common  ancestry  before  the  flood,  and 
which  had  been  retained  and  promulgated  after  that 
event  by  Noah. 

They  were,  with  these  dim  but  still  purifying  percep 
tions,  unwilling  to  degrade  the  majesty  of  the  First  Great 
Cause  by  sharing  his  attributes  with  a  Zeus  and  a  Hera 
in  Greece,  a  Jupiter  and  a  Juno  in  Rome,  an  Osiris  and 
an  Isis  in  Egypt ;  and  they  did  not  believe  that  the  think 
ing,  feeling,  reasoning  soul,  the  guest  and  companion  of 
the  body,  would,  at  the  hour  of  that  body's  dissolution, 
be  consigned,  with  it,  to  total  annihilation. 

Hence,  in  the  earliest  ages  after  the  era  ot  the  disper 
sion,  there  were  some  among  the  heathen  who  believed 


THE    SPURIOUS    FREEMASONRY    OF    ANTIQUITY.          33 

in  the  unity  of  God  and  the  immortality  of  the  soul.  But 
these  doctrines  they  durst  not  publicly  teach.  The  minds 
of  the  people,  grovelling  in  superstition,  and  devoted,  as 
St.  Paul  testifies  of  the  Athenians,  to  the  worship  of 
unknown  gods,  were  not  prepared  for  the  philosophic 
teachings  of  a  pure  theology.  It  was,  indeed,  an  axiom 
unhesitatingly  enunciated  and  frequently  repeated  by  theii 
writers,  that  "  there  are  many  truths  with  which  it  is 
useless  for  the  people  to  be  made  acquainted,  and  many 
fables  which  it  is  not  expedient  that  they  should  know  to 
be  false."  *  Such  is  the  language  of  Varro,  as  preserved 
by  St.  Augustine  ;  and  Strabo,  another  of  their  writers, 
exclaims,  u  It  is  not  possible  for  a  philosopher  to  conduct 
a  multitude  of  women  and  ignorant  people  by  a  method 
of  reasoning,  and  thus  to  invite  them  to  piety,  holiness, 
and  faith  ;  but  the  philosopher  must  also  make  use  of 
superstition,  and  not  omit  the  invention  of  fables  and  the 
performance  of  wonders. "  j 

While,  therefore,  in  those  early  ages  of  the  world,  we 
find  the  masses  grovelling  in  the  intellectual  debasement 
of  a  polytheistic  and  idolatrous  religion,  with  no  support 
for  the  present,  no  hope  for  the  future,  —  living  without 
the  knowledge  of  a  supreme  and  superintending  Provi- 

*  "Varro  de  religionibus  loquens,  evidenter  dicit,  multa  esse  vera, 
quae  vulgo  scire  non  situtile;  multaque,  quae  tametsi  falsa  sint, 
aliter  existimare  populum  expediat." —  St.  AUGUSTINE,  De  Civit. 
Dei.  —  We  must  regret,  with  the  learned  Valloisin,  that  the  sixteen 
books  of  Varro,  on  the  religious  antiquities  of  the  ancients,  have 
been  lost;  and  the  regret  is  enhanced  by  the  reflection  that  they 
existed  until  the  beginning  of  the  fourteenth  century,  and  disap 
peared  only  when  their  preservation  for  less  than  two  centuries 
more  would,  by  the  discovery  of  printing,  have  secured  their 
perpetuity. 

f  Strabo,  Geog.,  lib.  i. 

3 


34          THE    SPURIOUS    FREEMASONRY    OF    ANTIQUITY. 

dence,  and  dying  without  the  expectation  of  a  blissful 
immortality,  —  we  shall  at  the  same  time  find  ample  testi 
mony  that  these  consoling  doctrines  were  secretly  believed 
by  the  philosophers  and  their  disciples. 

But  though  believed,  they  were  not  publicly  taught. 
They  were  heresies  which  it  would  have  been  impolitic 
and  dangerous  to  have  broached  to  the  public  ear  ;  they 
were  truths  which  might  have  led  to  a  contempt  of  the 
established  system  and  to  the  overthrow  of  the  popular 
superstition.  Socrates,  the  Athenian  sage,  is  an  illus 
trious  instance  of  the  punishment  that  was  meted  out  to 
the  bold  innovator  who  attempted  to  insult  the  gods  and 
to  poison  the  minds  of  youth  with  the  heresies  of  a  philo 
sophic  religion.  "  They  permitted,  therefore,"  says  a 
learned  writer  on  this  subject,*  "  the  multitude  to  remain 
plunged  as  they  were  in  the  depth  of  a  gross  and  compli 
cated  idolatry  ;  but  for  those  philosophic  few  who  could 
bear  the  light  of  truth  without  being  confounded  by  the 
blaze,  they  removed  the  mysterious  veil,  and  displayed  to 
them  the  Deity  in  the  radiant  glory  of  his  unity.  From 
the  vulgar  eye,  however,  these  doctrines  were  kept  invio 
lably  sacred,  and  wrapped  in  the  veil  of  impenetrable 
mystery." 

The  consequence  of  all  this  was,  that  no  one  was 
permitted  to  be  invested  with  the  knowledge  of  these 
sublime  truths,  until  by  a  course  of  severe  and  arduous 
trials,  by  a  long  and  painful  initiation,  and  by  a  formal 
series  of  gradual  preparations,  he  had  proved  himself 
worthy  and  capable  of  receiving  the  full  light  of  wisdom. 
For  this  purpose,  therefore,  those  peculiar  religious  insti- 

*  Maurice,  Indian  Antiquities,  yol.  ii.  p.  297. 


THE    SPURIOUS    FREEMASONRY    OF    ANTIO^UITY.         35 

tutions  were  organized  which  the  ancients  designated  as 
the  MYSTERIES,  and  which,  from  the  resemblance  of  their 
organization,  their  objects,  and  their  doctrines,  have  by 
masonic  writers  been  called  the  "  Spurious  Freemasonry 
of  Antiquity." 

Warburton,*  in  giving  a  definition  of  what  these  Mys 
teries  were,  says,  "  Each  of  the  pagan  gods  had  (besides 
the  public  and  open)  a  secret  worship  paid  unto  him,  to 
which  none  were  admitted  but  those  who  had  been  se 
lected  by  preparatory  ceremonies,  called  initiation.  This 
secret  worship  was  termed  the  Mysteries."  I  shall  now 
endeavor  briefly  to  trace  the  connection  between  these 
Mysteries  and  the  institution  of  Freemasonry  ;  and  to  do 
so,  it  will  be  necessary  to  enter  upon  some  details  of  the 
constitution  of  those  mystic  assemblies. 

Almost  every  country  of  the  ancient  world  had  its  pe 
culiar  Mysteries,  dedicated  to  the  occult  worship  of  some 
especial  and  favorite  god,  and  to  the  inculcation  of  a 
secret  doctrine,  very  different  from  that  which  was  taught 
in  the  public  ceremonial  of  devotion.  Thus  in  Persia  the 
Mysteries  were  dedicated  to  Mithras,  or  the  Sun  ;  in 
Egypt,  to  Isis  and  Osiris  ;  in  Greece,  to  Demeter  ;  in  Samo- 
thracia,  to  the  gods  Cabiri,  the  Mighty  Ones ;  in  Syria, 
to  Dionysus ;  while  in  the  more  northern  nations  of  Eu 
rope,  such  as  Gaul  and  Britain,  the  initiations  were  dedi 
cated  to  their  peculiar  deities,  and  were  celebrated  under 
the  general  name  of  the  Druidical  rites.  But  no  matter 
where  or  how  instituted,  whether  ostensibly  in  honor  of 
the  effeminate  Adonis,  the  favorite  of  Venus,  or  of  the 
implacable  Odin,  the  Scandinavian  god  of  war  and  car- 

*  Div.  Leg.,  vol.  i.  b.  ii.  §  iv.  p.  193,  xoth  Lond.  edit. 


36         THE    SPURIOUS    FREEMASONRY    OF    ANTIQUITY. 

nage  ;  whether  dedicated  to  Demeter,  the  type  of  the  earth, 
or  to  Mithras,  the  symbol  of  all  that  fructifies  that  earth, 
—  the  great  object  and  design  of  the  secret  instruction  were 
identical  in  all  places,  and  the  Mysteries  constituted  a 
school  of  religion  in  which  the  errors  and  absurdities%of 
polytheism  were  revealed  to  the  initiated.  The  candidate 
was  taught  that  the  multitudinous  deities  of  the  popular 
theology  were  but  hidden  symbols  of  the  various  attri- 
bijtes  of  the  supreme  god,  —  a  spirit  invisible  and  indi 
visible, —  and  that  the  soul,  as  an  emanation  from  his 
essence,  could  "  never  see  corruption,"  but  must,  after 
the  death  of  the  body,  be  raised  to  an  eternal  life.  * 

That  this  was  the  doctrine  and  the  object  of  the  Mys 
teries  is  evident  from  the  concurrent  testimony  both  of 
those  ancient  writers  who  flourished  contemporaneously 
with  the  practice  of  them,  and  of  those  modern  scholars 
who  have  devoted  themselves  to  their  investigation. 

Thus  Isocrates,  speaking  of  them  in  his  Panegyric, 
says,  "  Those  who  have  been  initiated  in  the  Mysteries 
of  Ceres  entertain  better  hopes  both  as  to  the  end  of  life 
and  the  whole  of  futurity."  f 

•  Epictetus  j  declares  that  everything  in  these  Mysteries 
was  instituted  by  the  ancients  for  the  instruction  and 
amendment  of  life. 

And  Plato  §  says  that  the  design  of  initiation  was  to 
restore  the  soul  to  that  state  of  perfection  from  which  it 
had  originally  fallen. 

*  The  hidden  doctrines  of  the  unity  of  the  Deity  and  the  im 
mortality  of  the  soul  were  taught  originally  in  all  the  Mysteries, 
even  those  of  Cupid  and  Bacchus.  —  WARBURTON,  apud  Spence's 
Anecdotes,  p.  309. 

t  Isoc.  Paneg.,  p.  59. 

J  Apud  Arrian.  Dissert.,  lib.  iii.  c.  xxi. 

§  Phaedo. 


THE    SPURIOUS    FREEMASONRY    OF   ANTIQUITY.         37 

Thomas  Taylor,  the  celebrated  Platonist,  who  possessed 
an  unusual  acquaintance  with  the  character  of  these  an 
cient  rites,  asserts  that  they  "  obscurely  intimated,  by  mys 
tic  and  splendid  visions,  the  felicity  of  the  soul,  both  here 
and  hereafter,  when  purified  from  the  defilements  of  a 
material  nature,  and  constantly  elevated  to  the  realities 
of  intellectual  vision."  * 

Creuzer.f  a  distinguished  German  writer,  who  has  ex 
amined  the  subject  of  the  ancient  Mysteries  with  great 
judgment  and  elaboration,  gives  a  theory  on  their  nature 
and  design  which  is  well  worth  consideration. 

This  theory  is,  that  when  there  had  been  placed  under 
the  eyes  of- the  initiated  symbolical  representations  of  the 
creation  of  the  universe,  and  the  origin  of  things,  the  mi 
grations  and  purifications  of  the  soul,  the  beginning  and 
progress  of  civilization  and  agriculture,  there  was  drawn 
from  these  symbols  and  these  scenes  in  the  Mysteries  an 
instruction  destined  only  for  the  more  perfect,  or  the 
epopts,  to  whom  were  communicated  the  doctrines  of  the 
existence  of  a  single  and  eternal  God,  and  the  destination 
of  the  universe  and  of  man. 

Creuzer  here,  however,  refers  rather  to  the  general 
object  of  the  instructions,  than  to  the  character  of  the 
rites  and  ceremonies  by  which  they  were  impressed  upon 
the  mind  ;  for  in  the  Mysteries,  as  in  Freemasonry,  the 
Hierophant,  whom  we  would  now  call  the  Master  of  the 
Lodge,  often,  as  Lobeck  observes,  delivered  a  mystical 
lecture,  or  discourse,  on  some  moral  subject. 

Faber,  who,  notwithstanding  the  predominance  in  his 

*  Dissert,  on  the  Eleusinian  and  Bacchic  Mysteries,  in  the 
Pamphleteer,  vol.  viii.  p.  53. 

t  Symbol,  und  Mythol.  der  Alt.  Volk. 


38         THE    SPURIOUS    FREEMASONRY    OF    ANTIQUITY. 

mind  of  a  theory  which  referred  every  rite  and  symbol  of 
the  ancient  world  to  the  traditions  of  Noah,  the  ark,  and 
the  deluge,  has  given  a  generally  correct  view  of  the  sys 
tems  of  ancient  religion,  describes  the  initiation  into  the 
Mysteries  as  a  scenic  representation  of  the  mythic-descent 
into  Hades,  or  the  grave,  and  the  return  from  thence  to 
the  light  of  day. 

In  a  few  words,  then,  the  object  of  instruction  in  all 
these  Mysteries  was  the  unity  of  God,  and  the  intention 
of  the  ceremonies  of  initiation  into  them  was,  by  a  scenic 
representation  of  death,  and  subsequent  restoration  to 
life,*  to  impress  the  great  truths  of  the  resurrection  of 
the  dead  and  the  immortality  of  the  soul. 

I  need  scarcely  here  advert  to  the  great  similarity  in 
design  and  conformation  which  existed  between  these 
ancient  rites  and  the  third  or  Master's  degree  of  Masonry. 
Like  it  they  were  all  funereal  in  their  character  :  they 
began  in  sorrow  and  lamentation,  they  ended  in  joy ; 
there  was  an  aphanism,  or  burial ;  a  pastes,  or  grave  ;  an 
euresis,  or  discovery  of  what  had  been  lost ;  and  a  legend, 
or  mythical  relation,  —  all  of  which  were  entirely  and 
profoundly  symbolical  in  their  character. 

And  hence,  looking  to  this  strange  identity  of  design 
and  form,  between  the  initiations  of  the  ancients  and 
those  of  the  modern  Masons,  writers  have  been  disposed 
to  designate  these  mysteries  as  the  SPURIOUS  FREEMA 
SONRY  OF  ANTIQUITY. 

*  In  these  Mj'steries,  after  the  people  had  for  a  long  time  be 
wailed  the  loss  of  a  particular  person,  he  was  at  last  supposed  to 
be  restored  to  life.  —  BRYANT,  Anal,  of  Anc.  Mythology,  vol.  iii. 
p.  176. 


Y. 

THE  ANCIENT  MYSTERIES. 

NOW  propose,  for  the  purpose  of  illustrating 
these  views,  and  of  familiarizing  the  reader  with 
the  coincidences  between  Freemasonry  and  the 
ancient  Mysteries,  so  that  he  may  be  better  ena 
bled  to  appreciate  the  mutual  influences  of  each  on  the 
other  as  they  are  hereafter  to  be  developed,  to  present  a 
more  detailed  relation  of  one  or  more  of  these  ancient  sys 
tems  of  initiation. 

As  the  first  illustration,  let  us  select  the  Mysteries  of 
Osiris,  as  they  were  practised  in  Egypt,  the  birthplace 
of  all  that  is  wonderful  in  the  arts  or  sciences,  or  mys 
terious  in  the  religion,  of  the  ancient  world. 

It  was  on  the  Lake  of  Sais  that  the  solemn  ceremonies 
of  the  Osirian  initiation  were  performed.  "  On  this  lake," 
says  Herodotus,  "  it  is  that  the  Egyptians  represent  by 
night  his  sufferings  whose  name  I  refrain  from  mention 
ing ;  and  this  representation  they  call  their  Mysteries."  * 

Osiris,  the  husband  of  Isis,  was  an  ancient  king  of  the 
Egyptians.  Having  been  slain  by  Typhon,  his  body  was 

*  Herod.  Hist,  lib.  iii.  c.  clxxi. 


40  THE   ANCIENT    MYSTERIES. 

cut  into  pieces*  by  his  murderer,  and  the  mangled  remains 
cast  upon  the  waters  of  the  Nile,  to  be  dispersed  to  the 
four  winds  of  heaven.  His  wife,  Isis,  mourning  for  the 
death  and  the  mutilation  of  her  husband,  for  many  days 
searched  diligently  with  her  companions  for  the  portions 
of  the  body,  and  having  at  length  found  them,  united  them 
together,  and  bestowed  upon  them  decent  interment,  — 
while  Osiris,  thus  restored,  became  the  chief  deity  of  his 
subjects,  and  his  worship  was  united  with  that  of  Isis,  as 
the  fecundating  and  fertilizing  powers  of  nature.  The 
candidate  in  these  initiations  was  made  to  pass  through 
a  mimic  repetition  of  the  conflict  and  destruction  of 
Osiris,  and  his  eventual  recovery  ;  and  the  explanations 
made  to  him,  after  he  had  received  the  full  share  of  light 
to  which  the  painful  and  solemn  ceremonies  through 
which  he  had  passed  had  entitled  him,  constituted  the 
secret  doctrine  of  which  I  have  already  spoken,  as  the 
object  of  all  the  Mysteries.  Osiris,  —  a  real  and  personal 
god  to  the  people,  —  to  be  worshipped  with  fear  and  with 
trembling,  and  to  be  propitiated  with  sacrifices  and  burnt 
offerings,  became  to  the  initiate  but  a  symbol  of  the 

"  Great  first  cause,  least  understood," 

while  his  death,  and  the  wailing  of  Isis,  with  the  recovery 
of  the  body,  his  translation  to  the  rank  of  a  celestial  being, 
and  the  consequent  rejoicing  of  his  spouse,  were  but  a 

*  The  legend  says  it  was  cut  into  fourteen  pieces.  Compare 
this  with  the  fourteen  days  of  burial  in  the  masonic  legend  of  the 
third  degree.  Why  the  particular  number  in  each?  It  has  been 
thought  by  some,  that  in  the  latter  legend  there  was  a  reference  to 
the  half  of  the  moon's  age,  or  its  dark  period,  symbolic  of  the 
darkness  of  death,  followed  by  the  fourteen  days  of  bright  moon, 
or  restoration  to  life. 


THE    ANCIENT    MYSTERIES.  41 

tropical  mode  of  teaching  that  after  death  comes  life 
eternal,  and  that  though  the  body  be  destroyed,  the  soul 
shall  still  live. 

"  Can  we  doubt,"  says  the  Baron  Sainte  Croix,  "  that 
such  ceremonies  as  those  practised  in  the  Mysteries  of 
Osiris  had  been  originally  instituted  to  impress  more 
profoundly  on  the  mind  the  dogma  of  future  rewards  and 
punishments?"* 

"  The  sufferings  and  death  of  Osiris,"  says  Mr.  Wilkin 
son,!  "  were  the  great  Mystery  of  the  Egyptian  religion  ; 
and  some  traces  of  it  are  perceptible  among  other  people 
of  antiquity.  His  being  the  divine  goodness  and  the 
abstract  idea  of 'good,'  his  manifestation  upon  earth  (like 
an  Indian  god),  his  death  and  resurrection,  and  his  office 
as  judge  of  the  dead  in  a  future  state,  look  like  the  early 
revelation  of  a  future  manifestation  of  the  deity  converted 
into  a  mythological  fable." 

A  similar  legend  and  similar  ceremonies,  varied  only 
as  to  time,  and  place,  and  unimportant  details,  were  to 
be  found  in  all  the  initiations  of  the  ancient  Mysteries. 
The  dogma  was  the  same,  —  future  life,  —  and  the  method 
of  inculcating  it  was  the  same.  The  coincidences  be 
tween  the  design  of  these  rites  and  that  of  Freemasonry, 
which  must  already  begin  to  appear,  will  enable  us  to 
give  its  full  value  to  the  expression  of  Hutchinson,  when 
he  says  that  "  the  Master  Mason  represents  a  man  under 

*  Mysteres  du  Paganisme,  torn.  i.  p.  6. 

f  Notes  to  Rawlinson's  Herodotus,  b.  ii.  ch.  clxxi.  Mr.  Bryant 
expresses  the  same  opinion  :  "The  principal  rites  in  Egypt  were 
confessedly  for  a  person  lost  and  consigned  for  a  time  to  darkness, 
who  was  at  last  found.  This  person  I  have  mentioned  to  have 
been  described  under  the  character  of  Osiris." — Analysis  of  Ancient 
Mythology,  vol.  iii.  p.  177. 


42  THE    ANCIENT    MYSTERIES. 

the  Christian  doctrine  saved  from  the  grave  of  iniquity 
and  raised  to  the  faith  of  salvation."  * 

In  Phoenicia  similar  Mysteries  were  celebrated  in  honor 
of  Adonis,  the  favorite  lover  of  Venus,  who,  having,  while 
hunting,  been  slain  by  a  wild  boar  on  Mount  Lebanon, 
was  restored  to  life  by  Proserpine.  The  mythological 
story  is  familiar  to  every  classical  scholar.  In  the  popu 
lar  theology,  Adonis  was  the  son  of  Cinyras,  king  of 
Cyrus,  whose  untimely  death  was  wept  by  Venus  and 
her  attendant  nymphs :  in  the  physical  theology  of  the 
philosophers,!  he  was  a  symbol  of  the  sun,  alternately 
present  to  and  absent  from  the  earth  ;  but  in  the  initiation 
into  the  Mysteries  of  his  worship,  his  resurrection  and 
return  from  Hades  were  adopted  as  a  type  of  the  im 
mortality  of  the  soul.  The  ceremonies  of  initiation  in  the 
Adonia  began  with  lamentation  for  his  loss,  —  or,  as  the 
prophet  Ezekiel  expresses  it,  "  Behold,  there  sat  women 
weeping  for  Thammuz,"  —  for  such  was  the  name  under 
which  his  worship  was  introduced  among  the  Jews  ;  and 
they  ended  with  the  most  extravagant  demonstrations  of 
joy  at  the  representation  of  his  return  to  life,J  while  the 
hierophant  exclaimed,  in  a  congratulatory  strain, — 

"  Trust,  ye  initiates  ;  the  god  is  safe, 
And  from  our  grief  salvation  shall  arise." 

*  Spirit  of  Masonry,  p.  100. 

t  Varro,  according  to  St.  Augustine  (De  Civ.  Dei,  vi.  5),  says 
that  among  the  ancients  there  were  three  kinds  of  theology  —  a 
mythical,  which  was  used  by  the  poets;  a. physical,  by  the  philoso 
phers,  and  a  civil,  by  the  people. 

|  "Tous  les  ans,"  says  Sainte  Croix,  "pendant  les  jours  coa- 
sacres  au  souvenir  de  sa  mort,  tout  etoit  plonge  dans  la  tristesse  : 
on  ne  cessoit  de  pousser  des  gemissemens;  on  alloit  meme  jusqu'ti 
se  flageller  et  se  donner  des  coups.  Le  dernier  jour  de  ce  deuil, 


THE    ANCIENT    MYSTERIES.  43 

Before  proceeding  to  an  examination  of  those  Mysteries 
which  are  the  most  closely  connected  with  the  masonic 
institution,  it  will  be  as  well  to  take  a  brief  view  of  their 
general  organization. 

The  secret  worship,  or  Mysteries,  of  the  ancients  were 
always  divided  into  the  lesser  and  the  greater  ;  the  former 
being  intended  only  to  awaken  curiosity,  to  test  the 
capacity  and  disposition  of  the  candidate,  and  by  sym 
bolical  purifications  to  prepare  him  for  his  introduction 
into  the  greater  Mysteries. 

The  candidate  was  at  first  called  an  aspirant,  or  seeker 
of  the  truth,  and  the  initial  ceremony  which  he  under 
went  was  a  lustration  or  purification  by  water.  In  this 
condition  he  may  be  compared  to  the  Entered  Apprentice 
of  the  masonic  rites,  and  it  is  here  worth  adverting  to  the 
fact  (which  will  be  hereafter  more  fully  developed)  that 
all  the  ceremonies  in  the  first  degree  of  masonry  are 
symbolic  of  an  internal  purification. 

In  the  lesser  Mysteries*  the  candidate  took  an  oath 
of  secrecy,  which  was  administered  to  him  by  the  mys- 
tagogue,  and  then  received  a  preparatory  instruction,! 

on  faisoit  des  sacrifices  funebres  en  1'honneur  de  ce  dieu.  Le  jour 
suivant,  on  recevoit  la  nouvelle  qu'Adonis  venoit  d'etre  rappele  a 
la  vie,  qui  mettoit  fin  a  leur  deuil." — Recherches  sur  les  Myst. 
du  Paganisme,  torn.  ii.  p.  105. 

*  Clement  of  Alexandria  calls  them  ^ucruj^ta  TO.  TTQO  juucrTrjQlwi', 
"  the  mysteries  before  the  mysteries." 

t  Les  petits  mysteres  ne  consistoient  qu'en  ceremonies  pre- 
paratoires.  —  Sainte  Croix,  i.  297.  —  As  to  the  oath  of  secrecy, 
Bryant  says,  "  The  first  thing  at  these  awful  meetings  was  to  offer 
an  oath  of  secrecy  to  all  who  were  to  be  initiated,  after  which  they 
proceeded  to  the  ceremonies." — Anal,  of  Anc.  Myth.,  vol.  iii.  p. 
174.  —  The  Orphic  Argonautics  allude  to  the  oath  :  JURI&  6'  OQXMX 
Mvcnaig,  x.  T.  L,  "  after  the  oath  was  administered  to  the  mystes," 
&c.  —  Orph.  Argon.,  v.  II. 


44  THE    ANCIENT    MYSTERIES. 

which  enabled  him  afterwards  to  understand  the  develop 
ments  of  the  higher  and  subsequent  division.  He  was 
now  called  a  Mystes,  or  initiate,  and  may  be  compared 
to  the  Fellow  Craft  of  Freemasonry.  .< 

In  the  greater  Mysteries  the  whole  knowledge  of  the 
divine  truths,  which  was  the  object  of  initiation,  was 
communicated.  Here  we  find,  among  the  various  cere 
monies  which  assimilated  these  rites  to  Freemasonry, 
the  aphanism,  which  was  the  disappearance  or  death  ; 
the  pastos,  the  couch,  coffin,  or  grave  ;  the  euresis,  or 
the  discovery  of  the  body ;  and  the  autopsy,  or  full  sight 
of  everything,  that  is,  the  complete  communication  of  the 
secrets.  The  candidate  was  here  called  an  epopt,  or  eye 
witness,  because  nothing  was  now  hidden  from  him  ;  and 
hence  he  may  be  compared  to  the  Master  Mason,  of 
whom  Hutchinson  says  that  "  he  has  discovered  the 
knowledge  of  God  and  his  salvation,  and  been  redeemed 
from  the  death  of  sin  and  the  sepulchre  of  pollution  and 
unrighteousness." 


VI. 


THE   DIONYSIAC  ARTIFICERS. 


/**%J     FTER  this  general  view  of  the  religious  Myste- 
71       ries  of  the  ancient  world,  let  us  now  proceed  to 
x^/V/  a  closer    examination  of  those  which  are  more 
V__x       intimately  connected   with   the  history  of  Free 
masonry,  and  whose  influence  is,  to  this  day,  most  evi 
dently  felt  in  its  organization. 

Of  all  the  pagan  Mysteries  instituted  by  the  ancients 
none  were  more  extensively  diffused  than  those  of  the 
Grecian  god  Dionysus.  They  were  established  in  Greece, 
Rome,  Syria,  and  all  Asia  Minor.  Among  the  Greeks, 
and  still  more  among  the  Romans,  the  rites  celebrated  on 
the  Dionysiac  festival  were,  it  must  be  confessed,  of  a 
dissolute  and  licentious  character.*  But  in  Asia  they 

*  The  satirical  pen  of  Aristophanes  has  not  spared  the  Dio 
nysiac  festivals.  But  the  raillery  and  sarcasm  of  a  comic  writer 
must  always  be  received  with  many  grains  of  allowance.  He 
has,  at  least,  been  candid  enough  to  confess  that  no  one  could  be 
initiated  who  had  been  guilty  of  any  crime  against  his  country  or 
the  public  security.  —  Ranee,  v.  360-365.  —  Euripides  makes  the 
chorus  in  his  Bacchge  proclaim  that  the  Mysteries  were  practised 
only  for  virtuous  purposes.  In  Rome,  however,  there  can  be  little 

45 


46  THE    DIONYSIAC    ARTIFICERS. 

assumed  a  different  form.  There,  as  elsewhere,  the 
legend  (for  it  has  already  been  said  that  each  Mystery 
had  its  legend)  recounted,  and  the  ceremonies  represent 
ed,  the  murder  of  Dionysus  by  the  Titans.  The  secret 
doctrine,  too,  among  the  Asiatics,  was  not  different  from 
that  among  the  western  nations,  but  there  was  something 
peculiar  in  the  organization  of  the  system.  The  Myste 
ries  of  Dionysus  in  Syria,  more  especially,  were  not 
simply  of  a  theological  character.  There  the  disciples 
joined  to  the  indulgence  in  their  speculative  and  secret 
opinions  as  to  the  unity  of  God  and  the  immortality  of 
the  soul,  which  were  common  to  all  the  Mysteries,  the 
practice  of  an  operative  and  architectural  art,  and  occu 
pied  themselves  as  well  in  the  construction  of  temples 
and  public  buildings  as  in  the  pursuit  of  divine  truth. 

I  can  account  for  the  greater  purity  of  these  Syrian 
rites  only  by  adopting  the  ingenious  theory  of  Thirwall,* 
that  all  the  Mysteries  "  were  the  remains  of  a  worship 
which  preceded  the  rise  of  the  Hellenic  mythology,  and 
its  attendant  rites,  grounded  on  a  view  of  nature  less 
fanciful,  more  earnest,  and  better  fitted  to  awaken  both 
philosophical  thought  and  religious  feeling,"  and  by  sup 
posing  that  the  Asiatics,  not  being,  from  their  geogr-aphi- 

doubt  that  the  initiations  partook  at  length  of  a  licentious  char 
acter.  "  On  ne  peut  douter,"  says  Ste.  Croix,  "  que  1'introduction 
des  fetes  de  Bacchus  en  Italic  n'ait  accelere  les  progres  du  liberti- 
nage  et  de  la  debauche  dans  cette  contree."  —  Myst.  du  Pag:, 
torn.  ii.  p.  91.  —  St.  Augustine  (De  Civ.  Dei,  lib.  vii.  c.  xxi.)  in 
veighs  against  the  impurity  of  the  ceremonies  in  Italy  of  the 
sacred  rites  of  Bacchus.  But  even  he  does  not  deny  that  the 
motive  with  which  they  were  performed  was  of  a  religious,  or  at 
least  superstitious  nature  —  "Sic  videlicet  Liber  deus  placandus 
fuerat."  The  propitiation  of  a  deity  was  certainly  a  religious  act. 
*  Hist.  Greece,  vol.  ii.  p.  140. 


THE    DIONYSIAC    ARTIFICERS.  47 

cal  position,  so  early  imbued  with  the  errors  of  Hellen 
ism,  had  been  better  able  to  preserve  the  purity  and 
philosophy  of  the  old  Pelasgic  faith,  which,  itself,  was 
undoubtedly  a  direct  emanation  from  the  patriarchal 
religion,  or,  as  it  has  been  called,  the  Pure  Freemasonry 
of  the  antediluvian  world. 

Be  this,  however,  as  it  may,  we  know  that  "  the  Dio 
nysiacs  of  Asia  Minor  were  undoubtedly  an  association 
of  architects  and  engineers,  who  had  the  exclusive  privi 
lege  of  building  temples,  stadia,  and  theatres,  under  the 
mysterious  tutelage  of  Bacchus,  and  were  distinguished 
from  the  uninitiated  or  profane  inhabitants  by  the  science 
which  they  possessed,  and  by  many  private  signs  and 
tokens  by  which  they  recognized  each  other."  * 

This  speculative  and  operative  society  f  — speculative 
in  the  esoteric,  theologic  lessons  which  were  taught  in  its 
initiations,  and  operative  in  the  labors  of  its  members  as 
architects  —  was  distinguished  by  many  peculiarities  that 
closely  assimilate  it  to  the  institution  of  Freemasonry.  In 
the  practice  of  charity,  the  more  opulent  were  bound  to 
relieve  the  wants  and  contribute  to  the  support  of  the 
poorer  brethren.  They  were  divided,  for  the  conveniences 
of  labor  and  the  advantages  of  government,  into  smaller 
bodies,  which,  like  our  lodges,  were  directed  by  super 
intending  officers.  They  employed,  in  their  ceremonial 

*  This  language  is  quoted  from  Robison  (Proof sofa  Conspiracy, 
p.  20,  Lond.  edit.  1797),  whom  none  will  suspect  or  accuse  of  an 
undue  veneration  for  the  antiquity  or  the  morality  of  the  masonic 
order. 

f  We  must  not  confound  these  Asiatic  builders  with  the  play 
actors,  who  were  subsequently  called  by  the  Greeks,  as  we  learn 
from  Aulus  Gellius  (lib.  xx.  cap.  4),  "  ai'tificers  of  Dionysus"  — 


4  THE    DIONYSIAC    ARTIFICERS. 

observances,  many  of  the  implements  of  operative  Ma 
sonry,  and  used,  like  the  Masons,  a  universal  language, 
and  conventional  modes  of  recognition,  by  which  one 
brother  might  know  another  in  the  dark  as  well  as  the 
light,  and  which  served  to  unite  the  whole  body,  where 
soever  they  might  be  dispersed,  in  one  common  brother 
hood.* 

I  have  said  that  in  the  mysteries  of  Dionysus  the  le 
gend  recounted  the  death  of  that  hero-god,  and  the  subse 
quent  discovery  of  his  body.  Some  further  details  of  the 
nature  of  the  Dionysiac  ritual  are,  therefore,  necessary 
for  a  thorough  appreciation  of  the  points  to  which  I  pro 
pose  directly  to  invite  attention. 

In  these  mystic  rites,  the  aspirant  was  made  to  repre 
sent,  symbolically  and  in  a  dramatic  form,  the  events 
connected  with  the  slaying  of  the  god  from  whom  the 
Mysteries  derived  their  name.  After  a  variety  of  prepar 
atory  ceremonies,  intended  to  call  forth  all  his  courage 
and  fortitude,  the  aphanism  or  mystical  death  of  Dionysus 

*  There  is  abundant  evidence,  among  ancient  authors,  of  the 
existence  of  signs  and  passwords  in  the  Mysteries.  Thus  Apuleius, 
in  his  Apologj',  says,  "  Si  qui  forte  adest  eorundem  Solemnium 
mihi  particeps,  signum  dato,"  etc. ;  that  is,  "  If  any  one  happens 
to  be  present  who  has  been  initiated  into  the  same  rites  as  myself, 
if  he  will  give  me  the  sign,  he  shall  then  be  at  liberty  to  hear  what 
it  is  that  I  keep  with  so  much  care."  Plautus  also  alludes  to 
this  usage,  when,  in  his  "  Miles  Gloriosus,"  act  iv.  sc.  2,  he  makes 
Milphidippa  say  to  Pyrgopolonices,  "  Cedo  signum,  si  harunc 
Baccharum  es ;  "  i.  e.,  "Give  the  sign  if  you  are  one  of  these 
Bacchae,"  or  initiates  into  the  Mysteries  of  Bacchus.  Clemens 
Alexandrinus  calls  these  modes  of  recognition  ffw$//(uotT«,  as  if 
means  of  safety,  Apuleius  elsewhere  uses  memoracula,  I  think 
to  denote  passwords,  when  he  says,  "sanctissime  sacrorum  signa 
et  memoracula  custodire,"  which  I  am  inclined  to  translate,  "  most 
scrupulously  to  preserve  the  signs  and  passwords  of  the  sacred 
rites." 


THE    DIONYSIAC    ARTIFICERS.  49 

was  figured  out  in  the  ceremonies,  and  the  shrieks  and 
lamentations  of  the  initiates,  with  the  confinement  or 
burial  of  the  candidate  on  the  pastos,  couch,  or  coffin, 
constituted  the  first  part  of  the  ceremony  of  initiation. 
Then  began  the  search  of  Rhea  for  the  remains  of  Dio 
nysus,  which  was  continued  amid  scenes  of  the  greatest 
confusion  and  tumult,  until,  at  last,  the  search  having 
been  successful,  the  mourning  was  turned  into  joy,  light 
succeeded  to  darkness,  and  the  candidate  was  invested 
with  the  knowledge  of  the  secret  doctrine  of  the  Myste 
ries  —  the  belief  in  the  existence  of  one  God,  and  a  future 
state  of  rewards  and  punishments.* 

Such  were  the  mysteries  that  were  practised  by  the 
architects  —  the  Freemasons,  so  to  speak  —  of  Asia  Mi 
nor.  At  Tyre,  the  richest  and  most  important  city  of 
that  region,  a  city  memorable  for  the  splendor  and  mag 
nificence  of  the  buildings  with  which  it  was  decorated, 
there  were  colonies  or  lodges  of  these  mystic  architects  ; 
and  this  fact  I  request  that  you  will  bear  in  mind,  as  it 
forms  an  important  link  in  the  chain  that  connects  the 
Dionysiacs  with  the  Freemasons. 

But  to  make  every  link  in  this  chain  of  connection 
complete,  it  is  necessary  that  the  mystic  artists  of  Tyre 
should  be  proved  to  be  at  least  contemporaneous  with  the 

*  The  Baron  de  Sainte  Croix  gives  this  brief  view  of  the  cere 
monies :  "Dans  ces  mvsteres  on  employoit,  pour  remplir  1'ame 
des  assistans  d'une  sainte  horreur,  les  me'mes  moyensqu'a  Eleusis. 
L'apparition  de  fantomes  et  de  divers  objets  propres  a  eff raver, 
sembloit  disposer  les  esprits  a  la  credulite.  Us  en  avoient  sans 
doute  besoin,  pour  ajouter  foi  a  toutes  les  explications  des  mys- 
tagogues :  elles  rouloient  sur  le  massacre  de  Bacchus  par  les 
Titans,"  &c.  —  Recherches  sur  les  Mysteres  du  Paganisme,  torn.  ii. 
sect.  vii.  art.  iii.  p.  89. 

4 


50  THE    DIONYSIAC    ARTIFICERS. 

building  of  King  Solomon's  temple  ;   and  the  evidence  of 
that  fact  I  shall  now  attempt  to  produce. 

Lawrie,  whose  elaborate  researches  into  this  subject 
leave  us  nothing  further  to  discover,  places  the  arrival  of 
the  Dionysiacs  in  Asia  Minor  at  the  time  of  the  Ionic 
migration,  when  "  the  inhabitants  of  Attica,  complaining 
of  the  narrowness  of  their  territory  and  the  unfruitfulness 
of  its  soil,  went  in  quest  of  more  extensive  and  fertile 
settlements.  Being  joined  by  a  number  of  the  inhabit 
ants  of  surrounding  provinces,  they  sailed  to  Asia  Minor, 
drove  out  the  original  inhabitants,  and  seized  upon  the 
most  eligible  situations,  and  united  them  under  the  name 
of  Ionia,  because  the  greatest  number  of  the  refugees 
were  natives  of  that  Grecian  province."  *  With  their 
knowledge  of  the  arts  of  sculpture  and  architecture,  in 
which  the  Greeks  had  already  made  some  progress,  the 
emigrants  brought  over  to  their  new  settlements  their 
religious  customs  also,  and  introduced  into  Asia  the 
mysteries  of  Athene  and  Dionysus  long  before  they 
had  been  corrupted  by  the  licentiousness  of  the  mother 
country. 

Now,  Playfair  places  the  Ionic  migration  in  the  year 
1044  B.  C.,  Gillies  in  1055,  and  the  Abbe  Barthelemy  in 
1076.  But  the  latest  of  these  periods  will  extend  as  far 
back  as  forty-four  years  before  the  commencement  of  the 
temple  of  Solomon  at  Jerusalem,  and  will  give  ample  time 
for  the  establishment  of  the  Dionysiac  fraternity  at  the 
city  of  Tyre,  and  the  initiation  of  u  Hirarn  the  Builder" 
into  its  mysteries. 

Let    us    now    pursue    the    chain    of    historical    events 

*  Lawrie,  Hist,  of  Freemasonry,  p.  27. 


THE    DIONYSIAC    ARTIFICERS.  5 1 

which  finally  united  this  purest  branch  of  the  Spurious 
Freemasonry  of  the  pagan  nations  with  the  Primitive 
Freemasonry  of  the  Jews  at  Jerusalem. 

When  Solomon,  king  of  Israel,  was  about  to  build,  in 
accordance  with  the  purposes  of  his  father,  David,  "  a  house 
unto  the  name  of  Jehovah,  his  God,"  he  made  his  inten 
tion  known  to  Hiram,  king  of  Tyre,  his  friend  and  ally  ; 
and  because  he  was  well  aware  of  the  architectural  skill 
of  the  Tyrian  Dionysiacs,  he  besought  that  monarch's 
assistance  to  enable  him  to  carry  his  pious  design  into 
execution.  Scripture  informs  us  that  Hiram  complied 
with  the  request  of  Solomon,  and  sent  him  the  necessary 
workmen  to  assist  him  in  the  glorious  undertaking. 
Among  others,  he  sent  an  architect,  who  is  briefly  de 
scribed,  in  the  First  Book  of  Kings,  as  "  a  widow's  son, 
of  the  tribe  of  Naphtali,  and  his  father  a  man  of  Tyre, 
a  worker  in  brass,  a  man  filled  with  wisdom  and  under 
standing  and  cunning  to  work  all  works  in  brass ;  "  and 
more  fully,  in  the  Second  Book  of  Chronicles,  as  "  a  cun 
ning  man,  endued  with  understanding  of  Hiram  my 
father's,  the  son  of  a  woman  of  the  daughters  of  Dan, 
and  his  father,  a  man  of  Tyre,  skilful  to  work  in  gold, 
and  in  silver,  in  brass,  in  iron,  in  stone,  and  in  timber,  in, 
purple,  in  blue,  and  in  fine  linen  and  in  crimson,  also  to 
grave  any  manner  of  graving,  and  to  find  out  any  device 
which  shall  be  put  to  him." 

To  this  man  —  this  widow's  son  (as  Scripture  history, 
as  well  as  masonic  tradition  informs  us)  —  was  intrusted 
by  King  Solomon  an  important  position  among  the  work 
men  at  the  sacred  edifice,  which  was  constructed  on 
Mount  Moriah.  His  knowledge  and  experience  as  an 
artificer,  and  his  eminent  skill  in  every  kind  of  "  curious 


52  THE    DIONYSIAC    ARTIFICERS. 

and  cunning  workmanship,"  readily  placed  him  at  the 
head  of  both  the  Jewish  and  Tyrian  craftsmen,  as  the 
chief  builder  and  principal  conductor  of  the  works  ;  and 
it  is  to  him,  by  means  of  the  large  authority  which  this 
position  gave  him,  that  we  attribute  the  union  of  two 
people,  so  antagonistical  in  race,  so  dissimilar  in  manners, 
and  so  opposed  in  religion,  as  the  Jews  and  Tynans,  in 
one  common  brotherhood,  which  resulted  in  the  organi 
zation  of  the  institution  of  Freemasonry.  This  Hiram, 
as  a  Tyrian  and  an  artificer,  must  have  been  connected 
with  the  Dionysiac  fraternity  ;  nor  could  he  have  been  a 
very  humble  or  inconspicuous  member,  if  we  may  judge 
of  his  rank  in  the  society,  from  the  amount  of  talent 
which  he  is  said  to  have  possessed,  and  from  the  elevated 
position  that  he  held  in  the  affections,  and  at  the  court, 
of  the  king  of  Tyre.  He  must,  therefore,  have  been 
well  acquainted  with  all  the  ceremonial  usages  of  the 
Dionysiac  artificers,  and  must  have  enjoyed  a  long  expe 
rience  of  the  advantages  of  the  government  and  discipline 
which  they  practised  in  the  erection  of  the  many  sacred 
edifices  in  which  they  were  engaged.  A  portion  of  these 
ceremonial  usages  and  of  this  discipline  he  would  natu 
rally  be  inclined  to  introduce  among  the  workmen  at 
Jerusalem.  He  therefore  united  them  in  a  society,  sim 
ilar  in  many  respects  to  that  of  the  Dionysiac  artificers. 
He  inculcated  lessons  of  charity  and  brotherly  love ;  he 
established  a  ceremony  of  initiation,  to  test  experimentally 
the  fortitude  and  worth  of  the  candidate  ;  adopted  modes 
of  recognition ;  and  impressed  the  obligations  of  duty 
and  principles  of  morality  by  means  of  symbols  and 
allegories. 

To  the   laborers   and  men  of  burden,  the  Ish  Sabal, 


THE    DIONYSIAC    ARTIFICERS.  53 

and  to  the  craftsmen,  corresponding  with  the  first  and 
second  degrees  of  more  modern  Masonry,  but  little  secret 
knowledge  was  confided.  Like  the  aspirants  in  the  lesser 
Mysteries  of  paganism,  their  instructions  were  simply  to 
purify  and  prepare  them  for  a  more  solemn  ordeal,  .and 
for  the  knowledge  of  the  sublimest  truths.  These  were 
to  be  found  only  in  the  Master's  degree,  which  it  was 
intended  should  be  in  imitation  of  the  greater  Mysteries ; 
and  in  it  were  to  be  unfolded,  explained,  and  enforced  the 
great  doctrines  of  the  unity  of  God  and  the  immortality 
of  the  soul.  But  here  there  must  have  at  once  arisen  an 
apparently  insurmountable  obstacle  to  the  further  contin 
uation  of  the  resemblance  of  Masonry  to  the  Mysteries 
of  Dionysus.  In  the  pagan  Mysteries,  I  have  already 
said  that  these  lessons  were  allegorically  taught  by  means 
of  a  legend.  Now,  in  the  Mysteries  of  Dionysus,  the 
legend  was  that  of  the  death  and  subsequent  resuscitation 
of  the  god  Dionysus.  But  it  would  have  been  utter 
ly  impossible  to  introduce  such  a  legend  as  the  basis  of 
any  instructions  to  be  communicated  to  Jewish  candi 
dates.  Any  allusion  to  the  mythological  fables  of  their 
Gentile  neighbors,  any  celebration  of  the  myths  of  pagan 
theology,  would  have  been  equally  offensive  to  the  taste 
and  repugnant  to  the  religious  prejudices  of  a  nation 
educated,  from  generation  to  generation,  in  the  worship 
of  a  divine  being  jealous  of  his  prerogatives,  and  who 
had  made  himself  knowrn  to  his  people  as  the  JEHOVAH, 
the  God  of  time  present,  past,  and  future.  How  this 
obstacle  would  have  been  surmounted  by  the  Israelitish 
founder  of  the  order  I  am  unable  to  say :  a  substitute 
would,  no  doubt,  have  been  invented,  which  would  have 
met  all  the  symbolic  requirements  of  the  legend  of  the 


54  THE    DIONYSIAC    ARTIFICERS. 

Mysteries,  or  Spurious  Freemasonry,  without  violating  the 
religious  principles  of  the  Primitive  Freemasoury  of  the 
Jews  ;  but  the  necessity  for  such  invention  never  existed, 
and  before  the  completion  of  the  temple  a  melancholy 
event  is  said  to  have  occurred,  which  served  to  cut  the 
Gordian  knot,  and  the  death  of  its  chief  architect  has 
supplied  Freemasonry  with  its  appropriate  legend  —  a 
legend  which,  like  the  legends  of  all  the  Mysteries,  is  used 
to  testify  our  faith  in  the  resurrection  of  the  body  and 
the  immortality  of  the  soul. 

Before  concluding  this  part  of  the  subject,  it  is  proper 
that  something  should  be  said  of  the  authenticity  of  the 
legend  of  the  third  degree.  Some  distinguished  Masons 
are  disposed  to  give  it  full  credence  as  an  historical  fact, 
while  others  look  upon  it  only  as  a  beautiful  allegory. 
So  far  as  the  question  has  any  bearing  upon  the  symbol 
ism  of  Freemasonry  it  is  not  of  importance  ;  but  those 
who  contend  for  its  historical  character  assert  that  they 
do  so  on  the  following  grounds :  — 

First.  Because  the  character  of  the  legend  is  such  as 
to  meet  all  the  requirements  of  the  well-known  axiom  of 
Vincentius  Lirinensis,  as  to  what  we  are  to  believe  in 
traditionary  matters.* 

"  £)uod  semper,  quod  ubique,  quod  ab  omnibus  tra- 
ditum  est" 

*  Vincentius  Lirinensis  or  Vincent  of  Lirens,  who  lived  in  the 
fifth  century  of  the  Christian  era,  wrote  a  controversial  treatise 
entitled  "  Commonitorium,"  remarkable  for  the  blind  veneration 
which  it  pays  to  the  voice  of  tradition.  The  rule  which  he  there 
lays  down,  and  which  is  cited  in  the  text,  may  be  considered,  in  a 
modified  application,  as  an  axiom  by  which  we  may  test  the  prob 
ability,  at  least,  of  all  sorts  of  traditions.  None  out  of  the  pale  of 
Vincent's  church  will  go  so  far  as  he  did  in  making  it  the  criterion 
of  positive  truth. 


THE    DIONYSIAC    ARTIFICERS.  55 

That  is,  we  are  to  believe  whatever  tradition  has  been 
at  all  times,  in  all  places,  and  by  all  persons  handed  down. 

With  this  rule  the  legend  of  Hiram  Abif,  they  say, 
agrees  in  every  respect.  It  has  been  universally  received, 
and  almost  universally  credited,  among  Freemasons  from 
the  earliest  times.  We  have  no  record  of  any  Masonry 
having  ever  existed  since  the  time  of  the  temple  without 
it ;  and,  indeed,  it  is  so  closely  interwoven  into  the  whole 
system,  forming  the  most  essential  part  of  it,  and  giving 
it  its  most  determinative  character,  that  it  is  evident  that 
the  institution  could  no  more  exist  without  the  legend, 
than  the  legend  could  have  been  retained  without  the 
institution.  This,  therefore,  the  advocates  of  the  histor 
ical  character  of  the  legend  think,  gives  probability  at 
least  to  its  truth. 

Secondly.  It  is  not  contradicted  by  the  scriptural  his 
tory  of  the  transactions  at  the  temple,  and  therefore,  in 
the  absence  of  the  only  existing  written  authority  on  the 
subject,  we  are  at  liberty  to  depend  on  traditional  informa 
tion,  provided  the  tradition  be,  as  it  is  contended  that  in 
this  instance  it  is,  reasonable,  probable,  and  supported  by 
uninterrupted  succession. 

Thirdly.  Jt  is  contended  that  the  very  silence  of  Scrip 
ture  in  relation  to  the  death  of  Hiram,  the  Builder,  is  an 
argument  in  favor  of  the  mysterious  nature  of  that  death. 
A  man  so  important  in  his  position  as  to  have  been  called 
the  favorite  of  two  kings,  —  sent  by  one  and  received  by 
the  other  as  a  gift  of  surpassing  value,  and  the  donation 
thought  worthy  of  a  special  record,  would  hardly  have 
passed  into  oblivion,  when  his  labor  was  finished,  with 
out  the  memento  of  a  single  line,  unless  his  death  had 
taken  place  in  such  a  way  as  to  render  a  public  account 


56  THE    DIONYSIAC    ARTIFICERS. 

of  it  improper.  And  this  is  supposed  to  have  "been  the 
fact.  It  had  become  the  legend  of  the  new  Mysteries,  and, 
like  those  of  the  old  ones,  was  only  to  be  divulged  when 
accompanied  with  the  symbolic  instructions  which  it  was 
intended  to  impress  upon  the  minds  of  the  aspirants. 

But  if,  on  the  other  hand,  it  be  admitted  that  the  legend 
of  the  third  degree  is  a  fiction,  —  that  the  whole  masonic 
and  extra-scriptural  account  of  Hiram  Abif  is  simply  a 
myth,  —  it  could  not,  in  the  slightest  degree,  affect  the 
theory  which  it  is  my  object  to  establish.  For  since,  in  a 
mythic  relation,  as  the  learned  Mliller*  has  observed,  fact 
and  imagination,  the  real  and  the  ideal,  are  very  closely 
united,  and  since  the  myth  itself  always  arises,  according 
to  the  same  author,  out  of  a  necessity  and  unconscious 
ness  on  the  part  of  its  framers,  and  by  impulses  which  act 
alike  on  all,  we  must  go  back  to  the  Spurious  Freema 
sonry  of  the  Dionysiacs  for  the  principle  which  led  to  the 
involuntary  formation  of  this  Hiramic  myth  ;  and  then  we 
arrive  at  the  same  result,  which  has  been  already  indi 
cated,  namely,  that  the  necessity  of  the  religious  sentiment 
in  the  Jewish  mind,  to  which  the  introduction  of  the 
legend  of  Dionysus  would  have  been  abhorrent,  led  to  the 
substitution  for  it  of  that  of  Hiram,  in  which  the  ideal 
parts  of  the  narrative  have  been  intimately  blended  with 
real  transactions.  Thus,  that  there  was  such  a  man  as 
Hiram  Abif;  that  he  was  the  chief  builder  at  the  temple 
of  Jerusalem;  that  he  was  the  confidential  friend  of  the 
kings  of  Israel  and  Tyre,  which  is  indicated  by  his  title 
of  Ab,  or  father ;  and  that  he  is  not  heard  of  after  the 
completion  of  the  temple,  —  are  all  historical  facts.  That 

*  Proleg.  zu  einer  wissenshaftlich.  Mythologie. 


THE    DIONYSIAC    ARTIFICERS.  57 

he  died  by  violence,  and  in  the  way  described  in  the  ma 
sonic  legend,  may  be  also  true,  or  may  be  merely  mythical 
elements  incorporated  into  the  historical  narrative. 

But  whether  this  be  so  or  not,  —  whether  the  legend  be 
a  fact  or  a  fiction,  a  history  or  a  myth,  —  this,  at  least,  is 
certain  :  that  it  was  adopted  by  the  Solomonic  Masons  of 
the  temple  as  a  substitute  for  the  idolatrous  legend  of  the 
death  of  Dionysus  which  belonged  to  the  Dionysiac  Mys 
teries  of  the  Tyrian  workmen. 


VII. 

THE  UNION  OF   SPECULATIVE   AND    OPERATIVE   MA 
SONRY  AT  THE   TEMPLE   OF   SOLOMON. 


,  then,  we  arrive  at  another  important  epoch 
in  the  history  of  the  origin  of  Freemasonry. 

I  have  shown  how  the  Primitive  Freemasonry, 
originating  in  this  new  world,  with  Noah,  was  handed 
down  to  his  descendants  as  a  purely  speculative  institu 
tion,  embracing  certain  traditions  of  the  nature  of  God 
and  of  the  soul. 

I  have  shown  how,  soon  after  the  deluge,  the  descend 
ants  of  Noah  separated,  one  portion,  losing  their  tradi 
tions,  and  substituting  in  their  place  idolatrous  and  poly 
theistic  religions,  while  the  other  and  smaller  portion 
retained  and  communicated  those  original  traditions  un 
der  the  name  of  the  Primitive  Freemasonry  of  antiquity. 

I  have  shown  how,  among  the  polytheistic  nations, 
there  were  a  few  persons  who  still  had  a  dim  and  cloud 
ed  understanding  of  these  traditions,  and  that  they  taught 
them  in  certain  secret  institutions,  known  as  the  "  Myste 
ries,"  thus  establishing  another  branch  of  the  speculative 
science  which  is  known  under  the  name  of  the  Spurious 
Freemasonry  of  antiquity. 


UNION  OF  SPECULATIVE  AND  OPERATIVE  MASONRY.     59 

Again,  I  have  shown  how  one  sect  or  division  of  these 
Spurious  Freemasons  existed  at  Tyre  about  the  time  of 
the  building  of  King  Solomon's  temple,  and  added  to 
their  speculative  science,  which  was  much  purer  than 
that  of  their  contemporary  Gentile  mystics,  the  practice 
of  the  arts  of  architecture  and  sculpture,  under  the  name 
of  the  Dionysiac  Fraternity  of  Artificers. 

And,  lastly,  I  have  shown  how,  at  the  building  of  the 
Solomonic  temple,  on  the  invitation  of  the  king  of  Israel, 
a  large  body  of  these  architects  repaired  from  Tyre  to 
Jerusalem,  organized  a  new  institution,  or,  rather,  a  modi 
fication  of  the  two  old  ones,  the  Primitive  Freemasons 
among  the  Israelites  yielding  something,  and  the  Spu 
rious  Freemasons  among  the  Tyrians  yielding  more ; 
the  former  purifying  the  speculative  science,  and  the  latter 
introducing  the  operative  art,  together  with  the  mystical 
ceremonies  with  which  they  accompanied  its  administra 
tion. 

It  is  at  this  epoch,  then,  that  I  place  the  first  union  of 
speculative  and  operative  Masonry,  —  a  union  which  con 
tinued  uninterruptedly  to  exist  until  a  comparatively  recent 
period,  to  which  I  shall  have  occasion  hereafter  briefly  to 
advert. 

The  other  branches  of  the  Spurious  Freemasonry  were 
not,  however,  altogether  and  at  once  abolished  by  this 
union,  but  continued  also  to  exist  and  teach  their  half- 
truthful  dogmas,  for  ages  after,  with  interrupted  success 
and  diminished  influence,  until,  in  the  fifth  century  of  the 
Christian  era,  the  whole  of  them  were  proscribed  by  the 
Emperor  Theodosius.  From  time  to  time,  however, 
other  partial  unions  took  place,  as  in  the  instance  of 


60     UNION  OF  SPECULATIVE  AND  OPERATIVE  MASONRY. 

Pythagoras,  who,  originally  a  member  of  the  school  of 
Spurious  Freemasonry,  was,  during  his  visit  to  Babylon, 
about  four  hundred  and  fifty  years  after  the  union  at  the 
temple  of  Jerusalem,  initiated  by  the  captive  Israelites 
into  the  rites  of  Temple  Masonry,  whence  the  instructions 
of  that  sage  approximate  much  more  nearly  to  the  prin 
ciples  of  Freemasonry,  both  in  spirit  and  in  letter,  than 
those  of  any  other  of  the  philosophers  of  antiquity  ;  for 
which  reason  he  is  familiarly  called,  in  the  modern  ma 
sonic  lectures,  "  an  ancient  friend  and  brother,"  and  an 
important  symbol  of  the  order,  the  forty-seventh  problem 
of  Euclid,  has  been  consecrated  to  his  memory. 

I  do  not  now  propose  to  enter  upon  so  extensive  a  task 
as  to  trace  the  history  of  the  institution  from  the  comple 
tion  of  the  first  temple  to  its  destruction  by  Nebuchad 
nezzar  ;  through  the  seventy-two  years  of  Babylonish 
captivity  to  the  rebuilding  of  the  second  temple  by 
Zerubbabel ;  thence  to  the  devastation  of  Jerusalem  by 
Titus,  when  it  was  first  introduced  into  Europe ;  through 
all  its  struggles  in  the  middle  ages,  sometimes  protected 
and  sometimes  persecuted  by  the  church,  sometimes  for 
bidden  by  the  law  and  oftener  encouraged  by  the  monarch  ; 
until,  in  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century,  it  assumed 
its  present  organization.  The  details  would  require  more 
time  for  their  recapitulation  than  the  limits  of  the  present 
work  will  permit. 

But  my  object  is  not  so  much  to  give  a  connected  his 
tory  of  the  progress  of  Freemasonry  as  to  present  a  rational 
view  of  its  origin  and  an  examination  of  those  important 
modifications  which,  from  time  to  time,  were  impressed 
upon  it  by  external  influences,  so  as  to  enable  us  the  more 


UNION  OF  SPECULATIVE  AND  OPERATIVE  MASONRY.      6 1 

readily  to  appreciate  the  true  character  and  design  of  its 
symbolism. 

Two  salient  points,  at  least,  in  its  subsequent  history, 
especially  invite  attention,  because  they  have  an  important 
bearing  on  its  organization,  as  a  combined  speculative 
and  operative  institution. 


VIII. 

THE  TRAVELLING  FREEMASONS  OF  THE  MIDDLE 
AGES. 

'HE  first  of  these  points  to  which  I  refer  is  the 
establishment  of  a  body  of  architects,  widely  dis 
seminated  throughout  Europe  during  the  middle 
ages  under  the  avowed  name  of  Travelling  Freemasons. 
This  association  of  workmen,  said  to  have  been  the 
descendants  of  the  Temple  Masons,  may  be  traced  by 
the  massive  monuments  of  their  skill  at  as  early  a  period 
as  the  ninth  or  tenth  century  ;  although,  according  to  the 
authority  of  Mr.  Hope,  who  has  written  elaborately  on 
the  subject,  some  historians  have  found  the  evidence  of 
their  existence  in  the  seventh  century,  and  have  traced  a 
peculiar  masonic  language  in  the  reigns  of  Charlemagne 
of  France  and  Alfred  of  England. 

It  is  to  these  men,  to  their  preeminent  skill  in  archi 
tecture,  and  to  their  well-organized  system  as  a  class  of 
workmen,  that  the  world  is  indebted  for  those  mag 
nificent  edifices  which  sprang  up  in  such  undeviating 
principles  of  architectural  form  during  the  middle  ages. 
"  Wherever  they  came,"  says  Mr.  Hope,  "  in  the  suite 


TRAVELLING   FREEMASONS    OF    MIDDLE    AGES.         63 

of  missionaries,  or  were  called  by  the  natives,  or  arrived 
of  their  own  accord,  to  seek  employment,  they  appeared 
headed  by  a  chief  surveyor,  who  governed  the  whole 
troop,  and  named  one  man  out  of  every  ten,  under  the 
name  of  warden,  to  overlook  the  nine  others,  set  them 
selves  to  building  temporary  huts  *  for  their  habitation 
around  the  spot  where  the  work  was  to  be  carried  on, 
regularly  organized  their  different  departments,  fell  to 
work,  sent  for  fresh  supplies  of  their  brethren  as  the 
object  demanded,  and,  when  all  was  finished,  again 
raised  their  encampment,  and  went  elsewhere  to  under 
take  other  jobs."t 

This  society  continued  to  preserve  the  commingled 
features  of  operative  and  speculative  masonry,  as  they 
had  been  practised  at  the  temple  of  Solomon.  Admis 
sion  to  the  community  was  not  restricted  to  professional 
artisans,  but  men  of  eminence,  and  particularly  ecclesias 
tics,  were  numbered  among  its  members.  "  These  latter/' 
says  Mr.  Hope,  u  were  especially  anxious,  themselves,  to 
direct  the  improvement  and  erection  of  their  churches 
and  monasteries,  and  to  manage  the  expenses  of  their 
buildings,  and  became  members  of  an  establishment 
which  had  so  high  and  sacred  a  destination,  was  so  entire 
ly  exempt  from  all  local,  civil  jurisdiction,  acknowledged 
the  pope  alone  as  its  direct  chief,  and  only  worked 
under  his  immediate  authority  ;  and  thence  we  read  of  so 
many  ecclesiastics  of  the  highest  rank — abbots,  prelates, 
bishops  —  conferring  additional  weight  and  respectability 
on  the  order  of  Freemasonry  by  becoming  its  members 

*  In  German  hutten,  in  English  lodges^  whence  the  masonic 
term. 

t  Historical  Essay  on  Architecture,  ch.  xxi. 


64          TRAVELLING    FREEMASONS   OF   MIDDLE    AGES. 

—  themselves  giving  the  designs  and  superintending  the 
construction  of  their  churches,  and  employing  the  manual 
labor  of  their  own  monks  in  the  edification  of  them." 

Thus  in  England,  in  the  tenth  century,  the  Masons  are 
said  to  have  received  the  special  protection  of  King 
Athelstan  ;  in  the  eleventh  century,  Edward  the  Confes 
sor  declared  himself  their  patron  ;  and  in  the  twelfth, 
Henry  I.  gave  them  his  protection. 

Into  Scotland  the  Freemasons  penetrated  as  early  as 
the  beginning  of  the  twelfth  century,  and  erected  the 
Abbey  of  Kilwinning,  which  afterwards  became  the 
cradle  of  Scottish  Masonry  under  the  government  of 
King  Robert  Bruce. 

Of  the  magnificent  edifices  which  they  erected,  and  of 
their  exalted  condition  under  both  ecclesiastical  and  lay 
patronage  in  other  countries,  it  is  not  necessary  to  give  a 
minute  detail.  It  is  sufficient  to  say  that  in  every  part  of 
Europe  evidences  are  to  be  found  of  the  existence  of 
Freemasonry,  practised  by  an  organized  body  of  work 
men,  and  with  whom  men  of  learning  were  united  ;  or,  in 
other  words,  of  a  combined  operative  and  speculative 
institution. 

What  the  nature  of  this  speculative  science  continued 
to  be,  we  may  learn  from  that  very  curious,  if  authentic, 
document,  dated  at  Cologne,  in  the  year  1535,  and  hence 
designated  as  the  "  Charter  of  Cologne."  In  that  instru 
ment,  which  purports  to  have  been  issued  by  the  heads  of 
the  order  in  nineteen  different  and  important  cities  of  Eu 
rope,  and  is  addressed  to  their  brethren  as  a  defence 
against  the  calumnies  of  their  enemies,  it  is  announced  that 
the  order  took  its  origin  at  a  time  "  when  a  few  adepts, 
distinguished  by  their  life,  their  moral  doctrine,  and  their 


TRAVELLING    FREEMASONS    OF    MIDDLE    AGES.  65 

sacred  interpretation  of  the  arcanic  truths,  withdrew 
themselves  from  the  multitude  in  order  more  effectually 
to  preserve  uncontaminated  the  moral  precepts  of  that 
religion  which  is  implanted  in  the  mind  of  man." 

We  thus,  then,  have  before  us  an  aspect  of  Free 
masonry  as  it  existed  in  the  middle  ages,  when  it  presents 
itself  to  our  view  as  both  operative  and  speculative  in  its 
character.  The  operative  element  that  had  been  infused 
into  it  by  the  Dionysiac  artificers  of  Tyre,  at  the  building 
of  the  Solomonic  temple,  was  not  yet  dissevered  from 
the  pure  speculative  element  which  had  prevailed  in  it 
anterior  to  that  period. 
5 


IX. 

DISSEVERANCE  OF  THE   OPERATIVE  ELEMENT. 

'HE  next  point  to  which  our  attention  is  to  be 
directed  is  when,  a  few  centuries  later,  the 
operative  character  of  the  institution  began  to 
be  less  prominent,  and  the  speculative  to  assume  a  pre 
eminence  which  eventually  ended  in  the  total  separation 
of  the  two. 

At  what  precise  period  the  speculative  began  to  pre 
dominate  over  the  operative  element  of  the  society,  it 
is  impossible  to  say.  The  change  was  undoubtedly 
gradual,  and  is  to  be  attributed,  in  all  probability,  to 
the  increased  number  of  literary  and  scientific  men  who 
were  admitted  into  the  ranks  of  the  fraternity. 

The  Charter  of  Cologne,  to  which  I  have  just  alluded, 
speaks  of  "  learned  and  enlightened  men  "  as  constituting 
the  society  long  before  the  date  of  that  document,  which 
was  1535  ;  but  the  authenticity  of  this  work  has,  it  must 
be  confessed,  been  impugned,  and  I  will  not,  therefore, 
press  the  argument  on  its  doubtful  authority.  But  the 
diary  of  that  celebrated  antiquary,  Elias  Ashmole,  which 
is  admitted  to  be  authentic,  describes  his  admission  in  the 
year  1646  into  the  order,  when  there  is  no  doubt  that  the 


DISSEVERANCE    OF    THE    OPERATIVE    ELEMENT.        67 

operative  character  was  fast  giving  way  to  the  speculative. 
Preston  tells  us  that  about  thirty  years  before,  when  the 
Earl  of  Pembroke  assumed  the  Grand  Mastership  of  Eng 
land,  "  many  eminent,  wealthy,  and  learned  men  were 
admitted." 

In  the  year  1663  an  assembly  of  the  Freemasons  of 
England  was  held  at  London,  and  the  Earl  of  St.  Albans 
was  elected  Grand  Master.  At  this  assembly  certain 
regulations  were  adopted,  in  which  the  qualifications 
prescribed  for  candidates  clearly  allude  to  the  speculative 
character  of  the  institution. 

And,  finally,  at  the  commencement  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  and  during  the  reign  of  Queen  Anne,  who  died, 
it  will  be  remembered,  in  1714,  a  proposition  was  agreed 
to  by  the  society  "  that  the  privileges  of  Masonry  should 
no  longer  be  restricted  to  operative  masons,  but  extend 
to  men  of  various  professions,  provided  that  they  were 
regularly  approved  and  initiated  into  the  order." 

Accordingly  the  records  of  the  society  show  that  from 
the  year  1717,  at  least,  the  era  commonly,  but  improperly, 
distinguished  as  the  restoration  of  Masonry,  the  operative 
element  of  the  institution  has  been  completely  discarded, 
except  so  far  as  its  influence  is  exhibited  in  the  choice 
and  arrangement  of  symbols,  and  the  typical  use  of  its 
technical  language. 

The  history  of  the  origin  of  the  order  is  here  con 
cluded  ;  and  in  briefly  recapitulating,  I  may  say  that  in 
its  first  inception,  from  the  time  of  Noah  to  the  building 
of  the  temple  of  Solomon,  it  was  entirely  speculative  in 
its  character ;  that  at  the  construction  of  that  edifice,  an 
operative  element  was  infused  into  it  by  the  Tyrian 


68        DISSEVERANCE    OF    THE    OPERATIVE    ELEMENT. 

builders ;  that  it  continued  to  retain  this  compound 
operative  and  speculative  organization  until  about  the 
middle  of  the  seventeenth  century,  when  the  latter  ele 
ment  began  to  predominate ;  and  finally,  that  at  the 
commencement  of  the  eighteenth  century,  the  operative 
element  wholly  disappeared,  and  the  society  has  ever 
since  presented  itself  in  the  character  of  a  simply  specu 
lative  association. 

The  history  that  I  have  thus  briefly  sketched,  will  elicit 
from  every  reflecting  mind  at  least  two  deductions  of  some 
importance  to  the  intelligent  Mason. 

In  the  first  place,  we  may  observe,  that  ascending,  as 
the  institution  does,  away  up  the  stream  of  time,  almost 
to  the  very  fountains  of  history,  for  its  source,  it  comes 
down  to  us,  at  this  day,  with  so  venerable  an  appearance 
of  antiquity,  that  for  that  cause  and  on  that  claim  alone 
it  demands  the  respect  of  the  world.  It  is  no  recent 
invention  of  human  genius,  whose  vitality  has  yet  to  be 
tested  by  the  wear  and  tear  of  time  and  opposition,  and 
no  sudden  growth  of  short-lived  enthusiasm,  whose  exist 
ence  may  be  as  ephemeral  as  its  birth  was  recent.  One 
of  the  oldest  of  these  modern  institutions,  the  Carbo- 
narism  of  Italy,  boasts  an  age  that  scarcely  amounts  to 
the  half  of  a  century,  and  has  not  been  able  to  extend  its 
progress  beyond  the  countries  of  Southern  Europe,  im 
mediately  adjacent  to  the  place  of  its  birth  ;  while  it  and 
every  other  society  of  our  own  times  that  have  sought  to 
simulate  the  outward  appearance  of  Freemasonry,  seem 
to  him  who  has  examined  the  history  of  this  ancient 
institution  to  have  sprung  around  it,  like  mushrooms 
bursting  from  between  the  roots  and  vegetating  under 
the  shade  of  some  mighty  and  venerable  oak,  the  patri- 


DISSEVERANCE    OF   THE    OPERATIVE    ELEMENT.        69 

arch  of  the  forest,  whose  huge  trunk  and  wide-extended 
branches  have  protected  them  from  the  sun  and  the  gale, 
and  whose  fruit,  thrown  oft'  in  autumn,  has  enriched  and 
fattened  the  soil  that  gives  these  humbler  plants  their 
power  of  life  and  growth. 

But  there  is  a  more  important  deduction  to  be  drawn 
from  this  narrative.  In  tracing  the  progress  of  Freema 
sonry,  we  shall  find  it  so  intimately  connected  with  the 
history  of  philosophy,  of  religion,  and  of  art  in  all  ages 
of  the  world,  that  it  is  evident  that  no  Mason  can  expect 
thoroughly  to  understand  the  nature  of  the  institution,  or 
to  appreciate  its  character,  unless  he  shall  carefully  study 
its  annals,  and  make  himself  conversant  with  the  facts 
of  history,  to  which  and  from  which  it  gives  and  receives 
a  mutual  influence.  The  brother  who  unfortunately  sup 
poses  that  the  only  requisites  of  a  skilful  Mason  consist 
in  repeating  with  fluency  the  ordinarv  lectures,  or  in  cor 
rectly  opening  and  closing  the  lodge,  or  in  giving  with 
sufficient  accuracy  the  modes  of  recognition,  will  hardly 
credit  the  assertion,  that  he  whose  knowledge  of  the 
"royal  art"  extends  no  farther  than  these  preliminaries 
has  scarcely  advanced  beyond  the  rudiments  of  our  sci 
ence.  There  is  a  far  nobler  series  of  doctrines  with  which 
Freemasonry  is  connected,  and  which  no  student  ever 
began  to  investigate  who  did  not  find  himself  insensibly 
led  on,  from  step  to  step  in  his  researches,  his  love 
and  admiration  of  the  order  increasing  with  the  aug 
mentation  of  his  acquaintance  with  its  character.  It  is 
this  which  constitutes  the  science  and  the  philosophy  of 
Freemasonry,  and  it  is  this  alone  which  will  return  the 
scholar  who  devotes  himself  to  the  task  a  sevenfold 
reward  for  his  labor. 


7O        DISSEVERANCE    OF    THE    OPERATIVE    ELEMENT. 

With  this  view  I  propose,  in  the  next  place,  to  entei 
upon  an  examination  of  that  science  and  philosophy  as 
they  are  developed  in  the  system  of  symbolism,  which 
owes  its  existence  to  this  peculiar  origin  and  organization 
of  the  order,  and  without  a  knowledge  of  which,  such 
as  I  have  attempted  to  portray  it  in  this  preliminary 
inquiry,  the  science  itself  could  never  be  understood. 


X. 


THE   SYSTEM   OF   SYMBOLIC   INSTRUCTION. 


lectures  of  the  English  lodges,  which  are  far 
more  philosophical  than  our  own,  —  although  I  do 
not  believe  that  the  system  itself  is  in  general  as 
philosophically  studied  by  our  English  brethren  as  by 
ourselves,  —  have  beautifully  defined  Freemasonry  to  be 
"  a  science  of  morality  veiled  in  allegory  and  illustrated 
by  symbols."  But  allegory  itself  is  nothing  else  but  ver 
bal  symbolism  ;  it  is  the  symbol  of  an  idea,  or  of  a  series 
of  ideas,  not  presented  to  the  mind  in  an  objective  and 
visible  form,  but  clothed  in  language,  and  exhibited  in  the 
form  of  a  narrative.  And  therefore  the  English  defini 
tion  amounts,  in  fact,  to  this  :  that  Freemasonry  is  a 
science  of  morality,  developed  and  inculcated  by  the 
ancient  method  of  symbolism.  It  is  this  peculiar  charac 
ter  as  a  symbolic  institution,  this  entire  adoption  of  the 
method  of  instruction  by  symbolism,  which  gives  its 
whole  identity  to  Freemasonry,  and  has  caused  it  to  differ 
from  every  other  association  that  the  ingenuity  of  man  has 
devised.  It  is  this  that  has  bestowed  upon  it  that  attrac 
tive  form  which  has  always  secured  the  attachment  of  its 
disciples  and  its  own  perpetuity. 


72  THE    SYSTEM    OF    SYMBOLIC    INSTRUCTION. 

The  Roman  Catholic  church  *  is,  perhaps,  the  only 
contemporaneous  institution  which  continues  to  cultivate, 
in  any  degree,  the  beautiful  system  of  symbolism.  But 
that  which,  in  the  Catholic  church,  is,  in  a  great  measure, 
incidental,  and  the  fruit  of  development,  is,  in  Freemason 
ry,  the  very  life-blood  and  soul  of  the  institution,  born 
with  it  at  its  birth,  or,  rather,  the  germ  from  which  the 
tree  has  sprung,  and  still  giving  it  support,  nourishment, 
and  even  existence.  Withdraw  from  Freemasonry  its 
symbolism,  and  you  take  from  the  body  its  soul,  leaving 
behind  nothing  but  a  lifeless  mass  of  effete  matter,  fitted 
only  for  a  rapid  decay. 

Since,  then,  the  science  of  symbolism  forms  so  impor 
tant  a  part  of  the  system  of  Freemasonry,  it  will  be  well 
to  commence  any  discussion  of  that  subject  by  an  investi 
gation  of  the  nature  of  symbols  in  general. 

There  is  no  science  so  ancient  as  that  of  symbolism,f 
and  no  mode  of  instruction  has  ever  been  so  general  as 

*  Bishop  England,  in  his  "  Explanation  of  the  Mass,"  says  that 
in  every  ceremony  we  must  look  for  three  meanings:  "  the  first, 
the  literal,  natural,  and,  it  may  be  said,  the  original  meaning;  the 
second,  the  figurative  or  emblematic  signification  ;  and  thirdly, 
the  pious  or  religious  meaning :  frequently  the  two  last  will  be 
found  the  same;  sometimes  all  three  will  be  found  combined." 
Here  lies  the  true  difference  between  the  symbolism  of  the  church 
and  that  of  Masonry.  In  the  former,  the  symbolic  meaning  was 
an  afterthought  applied  to  the  original,  literal  one;  in  the  latter, 
the  symbolic  was  always  the  original  signification  of  every 
ceremony. 

t  "  Was  not  all  the  knowledge 

Of  the  Egyptians  writ  in  mystic  symbols? 

Speak  not  the  Scriptures  oft  in  parables? 

Are  not  the  choicest  fables  of  the  poets, 

That  were  the  fountains  and  first  springs  of  wisdom, 

Wrapped  in  perplexed  allegories?" 

BEN  JONSON,  Alchemist,  act  ii.  sc.  i. 


THE    SYSTEM    OF    SYMBOLIC    INSTRUCTION.  73 

was  the  symbolic  in  former  ages.  "  The  first  learning 
in  the  world,"  says  the  great  antiquary,  Dr.  Stukely, 
"  consisted  chiefly  of  symbols.  The  wisdom  of  the 
Chaldeans,  Phcenicians,  Egyptians,  Jews,  of  Zoroaster, 
Sanchoniathon,  Pherecydes,  Syrus,  Pythagoras,  Socrates, 
Plato,  of  all  the  ancients  that  is  come  to  our  hand,  is 
symbolic."  And  the  learned  Faber  remarks,  that  u  alle 
gory  and  personification  were  peculiar!}-  agreeable  to  the 
genius  of  antiquity,  and  the  simplicity  of  truth  was 
continually  sacrificed  at  the  shrine  of  poetical  decora 
tion." 

In  fact,  man's  earliest  instruction  was  by  symbols.* 
The  objective  character  of  a  symbol  is  best  calculated  to 
be  grasped  by  the  infant  mind,  whether  the  infancy  of 
that  mind  be  considered  nationally  or  individually. 
And  hence,  in  the  first  ages  of  the  world,  in  its  infancy, 
all  propositions,  theological,  political,  or  scientific,  were 
expressed  in  the  form  of  symbols.  Thus  the  first  reli 
gions  were  eminently  symbolical,  because,  as  that  great 
philosophical  historian,  Grote,  has  remarked,  "At  a  time 
when  language  was  yet  in  its  infancy,  visible  symbols 
were  the  most  vivid  means  of  acting  upon  the  minds  of 
ignorant  hearers." 

Again :  children  receive  their  elementary  teaching  in 
symbols.  "  A  was  an  Archer  ;  "  what  is  this  but  symbol 
ism?  The  archer  becomes  to  the  infant  mind  the  symbol 
of  the  letter  A,  just  as,  in  after  life,  the  letter  becomes,  to 
the  more  advanced  mind,  the  symbol  of  a  certain  sound 

*  The  distinguished  German  mythologist  Mtiller  defines  a 
symbol  to  be  "  an  eternal,  visible  sign,  with  which  a  spiritual 
feeling,  emotion,  or  idea  is  connected."  I  am  not  aware  of  a 
more  comprehensive,  and  at  the  same  time  distinctive,  definition. 


74  THE    SYSTEM    OF    SYMBOLIC  ^INSTRUCTION. 

of  the  human  voice.*  The  first  lesson  received  by  a 
child  in  acquiring  his  alphabet  is  thus  conveyed  by  sym 
bolism.  Even  in  the  very  formation  of  language,  the 
medium  of  communication  between  man  and  man,  and 
which  must  hence  have  been  an  elementary  step  in  the 
progress  of  human  improvement,  it  was  found  necessary 
to  have  recourse  to  symbols,  for  words  are  only  and  truly 
certain  arbitrary  symbols  by  which  and  through  which 
we  give  an  utterance  to  our  ideas.  The  construction  of 
language  was,  therefore,  one  of  the  first  products  of  the 
science  of  symbolism. 

We  must  constantly  bear  in  mind  this  fact,  of  the  pri 
mary  existence  and  predominance  of  symbolism  in  the 
earliest  times.f  when  we  are  investigating  the  nature  of 
the  ancient  religions,  with  which  the  history  of  Freema 
sonry  is  so  intimately  connected.  The  older  the  religion, 
the  more  the  symbolism  abounds.  Modern  religions  may 
convey  their  dogmas  in  abstract  propositions ;  ancient 
religions  always  conveyed  them  in  symbols.  Thus  there 
is  more  symbolism  in  the  Egyptian  religion  than  in  the 

*  And  it  may  be  added,  that  the  word  becomes  a  sjrmbol  of  an 
idea;  and  hence,  Harris,  in  his  "  Hermes,"  defines  language  to  be 
"  a  system  of  articulate  voices,  the  symbols  of  our  ideas,  but  of  those 
principally  which  are  general  or  universal."  —  Hermes,  book 
iii.  ch.  3. 

f  "  Symbols,"  says  Mdller,  "  are  evidently  coeval  with  the 
human  race;  they  result  from  the  union  of  the  soul  with  the  body 
in  man;  nature  has  implanted  the  feeling  for  them  in  the  human 
heart."  —  Introduction  to  a  Scientific  System  of  Mythology,  p.  196, 
Leitch's  translation.  —  R.  W.  Mackay  says,  "  The  earliest  instru 
ments  of  education  were  symbols,  the  most  universal  symbols  of 
the  multitudinously  present  Deity,  being  earth  or  heaven,  or  some 
selected  object,  such  as  the  sun  or  moon,  a  tree  or  a  stone,  famil 
iarly  seen  in  either  of  them." — Progress  of  the  Intellect,  vol.  i. 
P-  134- 


THE    SYSTEM    OF    SYMBOLIC    INSTRUCTION.  75 

Jewish,  more  in  the  Jewish  than  in  the  Christian,  more 
in  the  Christian  than  in  the  Mohammedan,  and,  lastly, 
more  in  the  Roman  than  in  the  Protestant. 

But  symbolism  is  not  only  the  most  ancient  and  gener 
al,  but  it  is  also  the  most  practically  useful,  of  sciences. 
We  have  already  seen  how  actively  it  operates  in  the 
early  stages  of  life  and  of  society.  We  have  seen  how 
the  first  ideas  of  men  and  of  nations  are  impressed  upon 
their  minds  by  means  of  symbols.  It  was  thus  that  the 
ancient  peoples  were  almost  wholly  educated. 

"  In  the  simpler  stages  of  society,"  says  one  writer  on 
this  subject,  "mankind  can  be  instructed  in  the  abstract 
knowledge  of  truths  only  by  symbols  and  parables. 
Hence  we  find  most  heathen  religions  becoming  mythic, 
or  explaining  their  mysteries  by  allegories,  or  instructive 
incidents.  Nay,  God  himself,  knowing  the  nature  of  the 
creatures  formed  by  him,  has  condescended,  in  the  earlier 
revelations  that  he  made  of  himself,  to  teach  by  symbols ; 
and  the  greatest  of  all  teachers  instructed  the  multitudes 
by  parables.*  The  great  exemplar  of  the  ancient  phi 
losophy  and  the  grand  archetype  of  modern  philosophy 
were  alike  distinguished  by  their  possessing  this  faculty 


*  Between  the  allegory,  or  parable,  and  the  symbol,  there  is,  as 
I  have  said,  no  essential  difference.  The  Greek  verb  Tra^a^aAAw, 
whence  comes  the  word  parable,  and  the  verb  (Jv^aUku  in  the 
same  language,  which  is  the  root  of  the  word  symbol,  both  have 
the  synonymous  meaning  "  to  compare."  A  parable  is  only  a 
spoken  symbol.  The  definition  of  a  parable  given  by  Adam 
Clarke  is  equally  applicable  to  a  symbol,  viz. :  "  A  comparison 
or  similitude,  in  which  one  thing  is  compared  with  another, 
especially  spiritual  things  with  natural,  by  which  means  these 
spiritual  things  are  better  understood,  and  make  a  deeper  impres 
sion  on  the  attentive  mind." 


76  THE    SYSTEM    OF    SYMBOLIC    INSTRUCTION. 

in  a  high   degree,  and   have  told   us  that  man  was  best 
instructed  by  similitudes."  * 

Such  is  the  system  adopted  in  Freemasonry  for  the 
development  and  inculcation  of  the  great  religious  and 
philosophical  truths,  of  which  it  was,  for  so  many  years, 
the  sole  conservator.  And  it  is  for  this  reason  that  I  have 
already  remarked,  that  any  inquiry  into  the  symbolic 
character  of  Freemasonry,  must  be  preceded  by  an  inves 
tigation  of  the  nature  of  symbolism  in  general,  if  we 
would  properly  appreciate  its  particular  use  in  the  organ 
ization  of  the  masonic  institution. 

*  North  British  Review,  August,  1851.  Faber  passes  a  similar 
encomium.  "  Hence  the  language  of  symbolism,  being  so  purely 
a  language  of  ideas,  is,  in  one  respect,  more  perfect  than  any 
ordinary  language  can  be  :  it  possesses  the  variegated  elegance  of 
synonymes  without  any  of  the  obscurity  which  arises  from  the  use 
of  ambiguous  terms."  —  On  the  Prophecies,  ii.  p.  63. 


XL 


THE    SPECULATIVE    SCIENCE    AND    THE    OPERA 
TIVE  ART. 

ND  now,  let  us  apply  this  doctrine  of  symbolism 
to  an  investigation  of  the  nature  of  a  speculative 
science,  as  derived  from  an  operative  art ;  for 
the  fact  is  familiar  to  every  one  that  Freemason 
ry  is  of  two  kinds.  We  work,  it  is  true,  in  speculative 
Masonry  only,  but  our  ancient  brethren  wrought  in  both 
operative  and  speculative  ;  and  it  is  now  well  understood 
that  the  two  branches  are  widely  apart  in  design  and  in 
character  —  the  one  a  mere  useful  art,  intended  for  the 
protection  and  convenience  of  man  and  the  gratification 
of  his  physical  wants,  the  other  a  profound  science,  en 
tering  into  abstruse  investigations  of  the  soul  and  a  future 
existence,  and  originating  in  the  craving  need  of  humanity 
to  know  something  that  is  above  and  beyond  the  mere 
outward  life  that  surrounds  us  with  its  gross  atmosphere 
here  below.*  Indeed,  the  only  bond  or  link  that  unites 

*  "  By  speculative  Masonry  we  learn  to  subdue  our  passions, 
to   act   upon    the    square,   to   keep  a    tongue    of  good   report,  to 


78         SPECULATIVE    SCIENCE    AND    OPERATIVE    ART. 

speculative  and  operative  Masonry  is  the  symbolism 
that  belongs  altogether  to  the  former,  but  which,  through 
out  its  whole  extent,  is  derived  from  the  latter. 

Our  first  inquiry,  then,  will  be  into  the  nature  of  the 
symbolism  which  operative  gives  to  speculative  Masonry  ; 
and  thoroughly  to  understand  this  —  to  know  its  origin, 
and  its  necessity,  and  its  mode  of  application  —  we  must 
begin  with  a  reference  to  the  condition  of  a  long  past 
period  of  time. 

Thousands  of  years  ago,  this  science  of  symbolism  was 
adopted  by  the  sagacious  priesthood  of  Egypt  to  convey 
the  lessons  of  worldly  wisdom  and  religious  knowledge, 
which  they  thus  communicated  to  their  disciples.*  Their 
science,  their  history,  and  their  philosophy  were  thus 
concealed  beneath  an  impenetrable  veil  from  all  the  pro 
fane,  and  only  the  few  who  had  passed  through  the 
severe  ordeal  of  initiation  were  put  in  possession  of  the 
key  which  enabled  them  to  decipher  and  read  with  ease 
those  mystic  lessons  which  we  still  see  engraved  upon  the 
obelisks,  the  tombs,  and  the  sarcophagi,  which  lie  scat- 
maintain  secrecy,  and  practise  charity."  —  Lect.  of  Fel.  Craft, 
But  this  is  a  very  meagre  definition,  unworthy  of  the  place  it 
occupies  in  the  lecture  of  the  second  degree. 

*  "  Animal  worship  among  the  Egyptians  was  the  natural  and 
unavoidable  consequence  of  the  misconception,  by  the  vulgar,  of 
those  emblematical  figures  invented  by  the  priests  to  record  their 
own  philosophical  conception  of  absurd  ideas.  As  the  pictures 
and  effigies  suspended  in  early  Christian  churches,  to  com 
memorate  a  person  or  an  event,  became  in  time  objects  of  wor 
ship  to  the  vulgar,  so,  in  Egypt,  the  esoteric  or  spiritual  mean 
ing  of  the  emblems  was  lost  in  the  gross  materialism  of  the 
beholder.  This  esoteric  and  allegorical  meaning  was,  however, 
preserved  by  the  priests,  and  communicated  in  the  mysteries  alone 
to  the  initiated,  while  the  uninstructed  retained  only  the  grosser 
conception." —  GLIDDON,  Otia  sEgyptiaca,  p.  94. 


SPECULATIVE    SCIENCE    AND    OPERATIVE    ART.          79 

tered,  at  this  day,  in  endless  profusion  along  the  banks  of 
the  Nile. 

From  the  Egyptians  the  same  method  of  symbolic  in 
struction  was  diffused  among  all  the  pagan  nations  of  an 
tiquity,  and  was  used  in  all  the  ancient  Mysteries*  as  the 
medium  of  communicating  to  the  initiated  the  esoteric 
and  secret  doctrines  for  whose  preservation  and  promul 
gation  these  singular  associations  were  formed. 

Moses,  who,  as  Holy  Writ  informs  us,  was  skilled  in 
all  the  learning  of  Egypt,  brought  with  him,  from  that 
cradle  of  the  sciences,  a  perfect  knowledge  of  the  science 
of  symbolism,  as  it  was  taught  by  the  priests  of  Isis  and 
Osiris,  and  applied  it  to  the  ceremonies  with  which  he 
invested  the  purer  religion  of  the  people  for  whom  he 
had  been  appointed  to  legislate. f 

Hence  we  learn,  from  the  great  Jewish  historian,  that,  in 
the  construction  of  the  tabernacle,  which  gave  the  first 
model  for  the  temple  at  Jerusalem,  and  afterwards  for  every 
masonic  lodge,  this  principle  of  symbolism  was  applied  to 
every  part  of  it.  Thus  it  was  divided  into  three  parts,  to 
represent  the  three  great  elementary  divisions  of  the  uni- 

*  "  To  perpetuate  the  esoteric  signification  of  these  symbols  to 
the  initiated,  there  were  established  the  Mysteries,  of  which  in 
stitution  we  have  still  a  trace  in  Freemasonry." —  GLIDDON,  Otia 

<*Bgyp-  P-  95- 

t  Philojudseus  says,  that  "Moses  had  been  initiated  by  the 
Egyptians  into  the  philosophy  of  symbols  and  hieroglyphics,  as 
well  as  into  the  ritual  of  the  holy  animals."  And  Hengstenberg, 
in  his  learned  work  on  "Egypt  and  the  Books  of  Moses,"  con 
clusively  shows,  by  numerous  examples,  how  direct  were  the 
Egyptian  references  of  the  Pentateuch;  in  which  fact,  indeed,  he 
recognizes  "  one  of  the  most  powerful  arguments  for  its  credibility 
and  for  its  composition  by  Moses."  —  HENGSTENBERG,  p.  239, 
Robbins's  trans. 


80         SPECULATIVE    SCIENCE    AND    OPERATIVE    ART. 

verse  —  the  land,  the  sea,  and  the  air.  The  first  two,  or 
exterior  portions,  which  were  accessible  to  the  priests  and 
the  people,  were  symbolic  of  the  land  and  the  sea,  which 
all  men  might  inhabit ;  while  the  third,  or  interior  divis 
ion,  —  the  holy  of  holies,  —  whose  threshold  no  mortal 
dared  to  cross,  and  which  was  peculiarly  consecrated 
to  GOD,  was  emblematic  of  heaven,  his  dwelling-place. 
The  veils,  too,  according  to  Josephus,  were  intended  for 
symbolic  instruction  in  their  color  and  their  materials. 
Collectively,  they  represented  the  four  elements  of  the 
universe  ;  and,  in  passing,  it  may  be  observed  that  this 
notion  of  symbolizing  the  universe  characterized  all  the 
ancient  systems,  both  the  true  and  the  false,  and  that  the 
remains  of  the  principle  are  to  be  found  everywhere,  even 
at  this  day,  pervading  Masonry,  which  is  but  a  develop 
ment  of  these  systems.  In  the  four  veils  of  the  tabernacle, 
the  white  or  fine  linen  signified  the  earth,  from  which  flax 
was  produced  ;  the  scarlet  signified  fire,  appropriately  rep 
resented  by  its  flaming  color  ;  the  purple  typified  the  sea, 
in  allusion  to  the  shell-fish  murex,  from  which  the  tint 
was  obtained  ;  and  the  blue,  the  color  of  the  firmament, 
was  emblematic  of  air.* 

It  is  not  necessary  to  enter  into  a  detail  of  the  whole 
system  of  religious  symbolism,  as  developed  in  the  Mosaic 
ritual.  It  was  but  an  application  of  the  same  principles 
of  instruction,  that  pervaded  all  the  surrounding  Gentile 
nations,  to  the  inculcation  of  truth.  The  very  idea  of  the 
ark  itself  t  was  borrowed,  as  the  discoveries  of  the  modern 

*  Josephus,  Antiq.  book  iii.  ch.  7. 

t  The  ark,  or  sacred  boat,  of  the  Egyptians  frequently  occurs 
on  the  walls  of  the  temples.  It  was  carried  in  great  pomp  by  the 
priests  on  the  occasion  of  the  "  procession  of  the  shrines,"  by 


SPECULATIVE    SCIENCE    AND    OPERATIVE   ART.         8 1 

Egyptologists  have  shown  us,  from  the  banks  of  the  Nile  ; 
and  the  breastplate  of  the  high  priest,  with  its  Urim  and 
Thummim,*  was  indebted  for  its  origin  to  a  similar  orna 
ment  worn  by  the  Egyptian  judge.  The  system  was  the 
same  ;  in  its  application,  only,  did  it  differ. 

With  the  tabernacle  of  Moses  the  temple  of  King  Sol 
omon  is  closely  connected  :  the  one  was  the  archetype  of 
the  other.  Now,  it  is  at  the  building  of  that  temple  that 
we  must  place  the  origin  of  Freemasonry  in  its  present 
organization :  not  that  the  system  did  not  exist  before, 
but  that  the  union  of  its  operative  and  speculative  charac 
ter,  and  the  mutual  dependence  of  one  upon  the  other, 
were  there  first  established. 

At  the  construction  of  this  stupendous  edifice  —  stupen 
dous,  not  in  magnitude,  for  many  a  parish  church  has 
since  excelled  it  in  size,f  but  stupendous  in  the  wealth 
and  magnificence  of  its  ornaments  —  the  wise  king  of 
Israel,  with  all  that  sagacity  for  which  he  was  so  emi 
nently  distinguished,  and  aided  and  counselled  by  the 
Gentile  experience  of  the  king  of  Tyre,  and  that  immor 
tal  architect  who  superintended  his  workmen,  saw  at 
once  the  excellence  and  beauty  of  this  method  of  incul 
cating  moral  and  religious  truth,  and  gave,  therefore,  the 
impulse  to  that  symbolic  reference  of  material  things  to  a 


means  of  staves  passed  through  metal  rings  in  its  side.  It  was 
thus  conducted  into  the  temple,  and  deposited  on  a  stand.  The 
representations  we  have  of  it  bear  a  striking  resemblance  to  the 
Jewish  ark,  of  which  it  is  now  admitted  to  have  been  the  prototype. 

*  "The  Egyptian  reference  in  the  Urim  and  Thummim  is  espe 
cially  distinct  and  incontrovertible."  —  HENGSTENBERG,  p.  158. 

t  According  to  the  estimate  of  Bishop  Cumberland,  it  was  only 
one  hundred  and  nine  feet  in  length,  thirty-six  in  breadth,  and 
fifty-four  in  height. 

6 


82          SPECULATIVE    SCIENCE    AND    OPERATIVE   ART. 

spiritual  sense,  which  has  ever  since  distinguished  the 
institution  of  which  he  v/as  the  founder. 

If  I  deemed  it  necessary  to  substantiate  the  truth  of  the 
assertion  that  the  mind  of  King  Solomon  was  eminently 
symbolic  in  its  propensities,  I  might  easily  refer  to  his 
writings,  filled  as  they  are  to  profusion  with  tropes  and 
figures.  Passing  over  the  Book  of  Canticles,  —  that  great 
lyrical  drama,  whose  abstruse  symbolism  has  not  yet  been 
fully  evolved  or  explained,  notwithstanding  the  vast  num 
ber  of  commentators  who  have  labored  at  the  task,  —  I 
might  simply  refer  to  that  beautiful  passage  in  the  twelfth 
chapter  of  Ecclesiastes,  so  familiar  to  every  Mason  as 
being  appropriated,  in  the  ritual,  to  the  ceremonies  of  the 
third  degree,  and. in  which  a  dilapidated  building  is  meta 
phorically  made  to  represent  the  decays  and  infirmities 
of  old  age  in  the  human  body.  This  brief  but  eloquent 
description  is  itself  an  embodiment  of  much  of  our  masonic 
symbolism,  both  as  to  the  mode  and  the  subject  matter. 

In  attempting  any  investigation  into  the  symbolism  of 
Freemasonry,  the  first  thing  that  should  engage  our  atten 
tion  is  the  general  purport  of  the  institution,  and  the  mode 
in  which  its  symbolism  is  developed.  Let  us  first  examine 
it  as  a  whole,  before  we  investigate  its  parts,  just  as  we 
would  first  view,  as  critics,  the  general  effect  of  a  building, 
before  we  began  to  inquire  into  its  architectural  details. 

Looking,  then,  in  this  way,  at  the  institution  —  coming 
down  to  us,  as  it  has,  from  a  remote  age  —  having  passed 
unaltered  and  unscathed  through  a  thousand  revolutions 
of  nations — and  engaging,  as  disciples  in  its  school  of 
mental  labor,  the  intellectual  of  all  times  —  the  first  thing 
that  must  naturally  arrest  the  attention  is  the  singular 
combination  that  it  presents  of  an  operative  with  a  specu 
lative  organization  —  an  art  with  a  science  —  the  technical 


SPECULATIVE    SCIENCE    AND    OPERATIVE   ART.         83 

terms  and  language  of  a  mechanical  profession  with  the 
abstruse  teachings  of  a  profound  philosophy. 

Here  it  is  before  us — a  venerable  school,  discoursing 
of  the  deepest  subjects  of  wisdom,  in  which  sages  might 
alone  find  themselves  appropriately  employed,  and  yet 
having  its  birth  and  deriving  its  first  life  from  a  society 
of  artisans,  whose  only  object  was,  apparently,  the  con 
struction  of  material  edifices  of  stone  and  mortar. 

The  nature,  then,  of  this  operative  and  speculative 
combination,  is  the  first  problem  to  be  solved,  and  the 
symbolism  which  depends  upon  it  is  the  first  feature  of 
the  institution  which  is  to  be  developed. 

Freemasonry,  in  its  character  as  an  operative  art,  is 
familiar  to  every  one.  As  such,  it  is  engaged  in  the 
application  of  the  rules  and  principles  of  architecture  to 
the  construction  of  edifices  for  private  and  public  use  — 
houses  for  the  dwelling-place  of  man,  and  temples  for  the 
worship  of  Deity.  It  abounds,  like  every  other  art,  in 
the  use  of  technical  terms,  and  employs,  in  practice,  an 
abundance  of  implements  and  materials  which  are  pecu 
liar  to  itself. 

Now,  if  the  ends  of  operative  Masonry  had  here 
ceased,  —  if  this  technical  dialect  and  these  technical  im 
plements  had  never  been  used  for  any  other  purpose,  nor 
appropriated  to  any  other  object,  than  that  of  enabling  its 
disciples  to  pursue  their  artistic  labors  with  greater  con 
venience  to  themselves,  —  Freemasonry  would  never  have 
existed.  The  same  principles  might,  and  in  all  proba 
bility  would,  have  been  developed  in  some  other  way  ;  but 
the  organization,  the  name,  the  mode  of  instruction,  would 
all  have  most  materially  differed. 

But  the  operative  Masons,  who  founded  the  order,  were 


84         SPECULATIVE    SCIENCE    AND    OPERATIVE   ART. 

not  content  with  the  mere  material  and  manual  part  of 
their  profession  :  they  adjoined  to  it,  under  the  wise  in 
structions  of  their  leaders,  a  correlative  branch  of  study. 

And  hence,  to  the  Freemason,  this  operative  art  has 
been  symbolized  in  that  intellectual  deduction  from  it, 
which  has  been  correctly  called  Speculative  Masonry. 
At  one  time,  each  was  an  integrant  part  of  one  undivided 
system.  Not  that  the  period  ever  existed  when  every 
operative  mason  was  acquainted  with,  or  initiated  into, 
the  speculative  science.  Even  now,  there  are  thousands 
of  skilful  artisans  who  know  as  little  of  that  as  they  do  of 
the  Hebrew  language  which  was  spoken  by  its  founder. 
But  operative  Masonry  was,  in  the  inception  of  our  his 
tory,  and  is,  in  some  measure,  even  now,  the  skeleton 
upon  which  was  strung  the  living  muscles,  and  tendons, 
and  nerves  of  the  speculative  system.  It  was  the  block 
of  marble — rude  and  unpolished  it  may  have  been  —  from 
which  was  sculptured  the  life-breathing  statue.* 

Speculative  Masonry  (which  is  but  another  name  for 
Freemasonary  in  its  modern  acceptation)  may  be  briefly 
defined  as  the  scientific  application  and  the  religious  con 
secration  of  the  rides  and  principles,  the  language,  the 
implements  and  materials  of  operative  Masonry  to  the 
veneration  of  God,  the  purification  of  the  heart,  and  the 
inculcation  of  the  dogmas  of  a  religious  philosophy. 

*  "  Thus  did  our  wise  Grand  Master  contrive  a  plan,  by 
mechanical  and  practical  allusions,  to  instruct  the  craftsmen  in 
principles  of  the  most  sublime  speculative  philosophy,  tending  to 
the  glory  of  God,  and  to  secure  to  them  temporal  blessings  here 
and  eternal  life  hereafter,  as  well  as  to  unite  the  speculative  and 
operative  Masons,  thereby  forming  a  twofold  advantage,  from  the 
principles  of  geometry  and  architecture  on  the  one  part,  and  the 
precepts  of  wisdom  and  ethics  on  the  other."  —  CALCOTT,  Candid 
Disquisition,  p.  31,  ed.  1769. 


XII. 

THE   SYMBOLISM  OF  SOLOMON'S  TEMPLE. 

fHAVE  said   that  the  operative  art  is  symbolized 
—  that  is  to  say,  used  as  a  symbol  —  in  the  spec 
ulative  science.     Let  us  now  inquire,  as  the  sub- 
V J   jectof  the  present  essay,  how  this  is  done  in  refer 
ence  to  a  system  of  symbolism  dependent  for  its  construc 
tion  on  types    and    figures    derived   from  the    temple  of 
Solomon,  and  which   we  hence  call  the  "  Temple  Sym 
bolism  of  Freemasonry." 

Bearing  in  mind  that  speculative  Masonry  dates  its 
origin  from  the  building  of  King  Solomon's  temple  by 
Jewish  and  Tyrian  artisans,*  the  first  important  fact  that 
attracts  the  attention  is,  that  the  operative  masons  at 
Jerusalem  were  engaged  in  the  construction  of  an  earthly 
and  material  temple,  to  be  dedicated  to  the  service  and 
worship  of  God  —  a  house  in  which  Jehovah  was  to 
dwell  visibly  by  his  Shekinah,  and  whence  he  was,  by  the 

*  This  proposition  I  ask  to  be  conceded;  the  evidences  of  its 
truth  are,  however,  abundant,  were  it  necessary  to  produce  them. 
The  craft,  generally,  will,  I  presume,  assent  to  it. 


86  THE    SYMBOLISM    OF    SOLOMON'S    TEMPLE. 

Urim  and  Thummim,  to  send  forth  his  oracles  for  the 
government  and  direction  of  his  chosen  people. 

Now,  the  operative  art  having,^;-  us^  ceased,  we,  as 
speculative  Masons,  symbolize  the  labors  of  our  prede 
cessors  by  engaging  in  the  construction  of  a  spiritual 
temple  in  our  hearts,  pure  and  spotless,  fit  for  the  dwell 
ing-place  of  Him  who  is  the  author  of  purity  —  where 
God  is  to  be  worshipped  in  spirit  and  in  truth,  and 
whence  every  evil  thought  and  unruly  passion  is  to  be 
banished,  as  the  sinner  and  the  Gentile  were  excluded 
from  the  sanctuary  of  the  Jewish  temple. 

This  spiritualizing  of  the  temple  of  Solomon  is  the 
first,  the  most  prominent  and  most  pervading  of  all  the 
symbolic  instructions  of  Freemasonry.  It  is  the  link  that 
binds  the  operative  and  speculative  divisions  of  the  order. 
It  is  this  which  gives  it  its  religious  character.  Take  from 
Freemasonry  its  dependence  on  the  temple,  leave  out 
of  its  ritual  all  reference  to  that  sacred  edifice,  and  to  the 
legends  connected  with  it,  and  the  system  itself  must  at 
once  decay  and  die,  or  at  best  remain  only  as  some  fos 
silized  bone,  imperfectly  to  show  the  nature  of  the  living 
body  to  which  it  once  belonged. 

Temple  worship  is  in  itself  an  ancient  type  of  the 
religious  sentiment  in  its  progress  towards  spiritual  ele 
vation.  As  soon  as  a  nation  emerged,  in  the  world's 
progress,  out  of  Fetichism,  or  the  worship  of  visible 
objects,  —  the  most  degraded  form  of  idolatry,  —  its  people 
began  to  establish  a  priesthood  and  to  erect  temples.* 

*  "  The  groves  were  God's  first  temples.     Ere  man  learned 
To  hew  the  shaft,  and  lay  the  architrave, 
And  spread  the  roof  above  them  — ere  he  framed 
The  lofty  vault,  to  gather  and  roll  back 


THE    SYMBOLISM    OF    SOLOMON'S    TEMPLE.  87 

The  Scandinavians,  the  Celts,  the  Egyptians,  and  the 
Greeks,  however  much  they  may  have  differed  in  the 
ritual  and  the  objects  of  their  polytheistic  worship,  all 
were  possessed  of  priests  and  temples.  The  Jews  first 
constructed  their  tabernacle,  or  portable  temple,  and  then, 
when  time  and  opportunity  permitted,  transferred  their 
monotheistic  worship  to  that  more  permanent  edifice 
which  is  now  the  subject  of  our  contemplation.  The 
mosque  of  the  Mohammedan  and  the  church  or  the 
chapel  of  the  Christian  are  but  embodiments  of  the  same 
idea  of  temple  worship  in  a  simpler  form. 

The  adaptation,  therefore,  of  the  material  temple  to  a 
science  of  symbolism  would  be  an  easy,  and  by  no  means 
a  novel  task,  to  both  the  Jewish  and  the  Tyrian  mind. 
Doubtless,  at  its  original  conception,  the  idea  was  rude 
and  unembellished,  to  be  perfected  and  polished  only  by 
future  aggregations  of  succeeding  intellects;  And  yet  no 
biblical  scholar  will  venture  to  deny  that  there  was,  in  the 
mode  of  building,  and  in  all  the  circumstances  connected 
with  the  construction  of  King  Solomon's  temple,  an  ap 
parent  design  to  establish  a  foundation  for  symbolism.* 

The  sound  of  anthems —  in  the  darkling  wood, 

Amid  the  cool  and  silence,  he  knelt  down, 

And  offered  to  the  Mightiest  solemn  thanks 

And  supplication." —  BRYANT. 

*  Theologians  have  always  given  a  spiritual  application  to  the 
temple  of  Solomon,  referring  it  to  the  mysteries  of  the  Christian 
dispensation.  For  this,  consult  all  the  biblical  commentators. 
But  I  may  particularly  mention,  on  this  subject,  Bunyan's  "  Solo 
mon's  Temple  Spiritualized,"  and  a  rare  work  in  folio,  by  Samuel 
Lee,  Fellow  of  Wadham  College,  Oxford,  published  at  London  in 
1659,  an<3  entitled  "  Orbis  Miraculum,  or  the  Temple  of  Solomon 
portrayed  by  Scripture  Light."  A  copy  of  this  scarce  work,  which 
treats  very  learnedly  of  "  the  spiritual  mysteries  of  the  gospel 
veiled  under  the  temple,"  I  have  lately  been,  by  good  fortune, 
enabled  to  add  to  my  library. 


88  THE    SYMBOLISM    OF    SOLOMON'S    TEMPLE. 

I  propose  now  to  illustrate,  by  a  few  examples,  the 
method  in  which  the  speculative  Masons  have  appropri 
ated  this  design  of  King  Solomon  to  their  own  use. 

To  construct  his  earthly  temple,  the  operative  mason 
followed  the  architectural  designs  laid  down  on  the  trestle- 
board,  or  tracing-board,  or  book  of  plans  of  the  architect. 
By  these  he  hewed  and  squared  his  materials ;  by  these 
he  raised  his  walls  ;  by  these  he  constructed  his  arches ; 
and  by  these  strength  and  durability,  combined  with  grace 
and  beauty,  were  bestowed  upon  the  edifice  which  he 
was  constructing. 

The  trestle-board  becomes,  therefore,  one  of  our  ele 
mentary  symbols.  For  in  the  masonic  ritual  the  specu 
lative  Mason  is  reminded  that,  as  the  operative  artist 
erects  his  temporal  building,  in  accordance  with  the  rules 
and  designs  laid  clown  on  the  trestle-board  of  the  master- 
workman,  so  should  he  erect  that  spiritual  building,  of 
which  the  material  is  a  type,  in  obedience  to  the  rules  and 
designs,  the  precepts  and  commands,  laid  down  by  the 
grand  Architect  of  the  universe,  in  those  great  books  of 
nature  and  revelation,  which  constitute  the  spiritual 
trestle-board  of  every  Freemason. 

The  trestle-board  is,  then,  the  symbol  of  the  natural 
and  moral  law.  Like  every  other  symbol  of  the  order, 
it  is  universal  and  tolerant  in  its  application  ;  and  while, 
as  Christian  Masons,  we  cling  with  unfaltering  integrity 
to  that  explanation  which  makes  the  Scriptures  of  both 
dispensations  our  trestle-board,  we  permit  our  Jewish  and 
Mohammedan  brethren  to  content  themselves  with  the 
books  of  the  Old  Testament,  or  the  Koran.  Masonry 
does  not  interfere  with  the  peculiar  form  or  development 
of  any  one's  religious  faith.  All  that  it  asks  is,  that  the 


THE    SYMBOLISM    OF    SOLOMON'S    TEMPLE.  89 

interpretation  of  the  symbol  shall  be  according  to  what 
each  one  supposes  to  be  the  revealed  will  of  his  Creator. 
But  so  rigidly  exacting  is  it  that  the  symbol  shall  be  pre 
served,  and,  in  some  rational  way,  interpreted,  that  it 
peremptorily  excludes  the  Atheist  from  its  communion, 
because,  believing  in  no  Supreme  Being,  no  divine 
Architect,  he  must  necessarily  be  without  a  spiritual 
trestle-board  on  which  the  designs  of  that  Being  may  be 
inscribed  for  his  direction. 

But  the  operative  mason  required  materials  wherewith 
to  construct  his  temple.  There  was,  for  instance,  the 
rough  ashlar — the  stone  in  its  rude  and  natural  state  — 
unformed  and  unpolished,  as  it  had  been  lying  in  the  quar 
ries  of  Tyre  from  the  foundation  of  the  earth.  This  stone 
was  to  be  hewed  and  squared,  to  be  fitted  and  adjusted, 
by  simple,  but  appropriate  implements,  until  it  became 
a  perfect  ashlar,  or  well-finished  stone,  ready  to  take  its 
destined  place  in  the  building. 

Here,  then,  again,  in  these  materials  do  we  find  other 
elementary  symbols.  The  rough  and  unpolished  stone  is 
a  symbol  of  man's  natural  state  —  ignorant,  uncultivated, 
and,  as  the  Roman  historian  expresses  it,  "  grovelling  to 
the  earth,  like  the  beasts  of  the  field,  and  obedient  to 
every  sordid  appetite  ; "  *  but  when  education  has  ex 
erted  its  salutary  influences  in  expanding  his  intellect,  in 
restraining  his  hitherto  unruly  passions,  and  purifying  his 
life,  he  is  then  represented  by  the  perfect  ashlar,  or  finished 
stone,  which,  under  the  skilful  hands  of  the  workman, 
has  been  smoothed,  and  squared,  and  fitted  for  its  appro 
priate  place  in  the  building. 

*  Veluti  pecora,  quje  natura  finxit  prona  et  obedientia  ventri.— 
SALLUST,  Bell.  Catil-  i. 


9O  THE    SYMBOLISM    OF    SOLOMON'S    TEMPLE. 

Here  an  interesting  circumstance  in  the  history  of  the 
preparation  of  these  materials  has  been  seized  and  beau 
tifully  appropriated  by  our  symbolic  science.  We  learn 
from  the  account  of  the  temple,  contained  in  the  First 
Book  of  Kings,  that  "The  house,  when  it  was  in  building, 
was  built  of  stone,  made  ready  before  it  was  brought 
thither,  so  that  there  was  neither  hammer  nor  axe,  nor 
any  tool  of  iron,  heard  in  the  house  while  it  was  in 
building."  * 

Now,  this  mode  of  construction,  undoubtedly  adopted 
to  avoid  confusion  and  discord  among  so  many  thousand 
workmen,f  has  been  selected  as  an  elementary  symbol  of 
concord  and  harmony  —  virtues  which  are  not  more  essen 
tial  to  the  preservation  and  perpetuity  of  our  own  society 
than  they  are  to  that  of  every  human  association. 

The  perfect  ashlar,  therefore,  —  the  stone  thus  fitted  for 
its  appropriate  position  in  the  temple,  — becomes  not  only 
a  symbol  of  human  perfection  (in  itself,  of  course,  only  a 
comparative  term),  but  also,  when  we  refer  to  the  mode 
in  which  it  was  prepared,  of  that  species  of  perfection 
which  results  from  the  concord  and  union  of  men  in 
society.  It  is,  in  fact,  a  symbol  of  the  social  character 
of  the  institution. 

There  are  other  elementary  symbols,  to  which  I  may 
hereafter  have  occasion  to  revert;  the  three,  however, 
already  described,  —  the  rough  ashlar,  the  perfect  ashlar, 
and  the  trestle-board,  —  and  which,  from  their  importance, 

*  i  Kings  vi.  7. 

f  In  further  illustration  of  the  wisdom  of  these  temple  con 
trivances,  it  may  be  mentioned  that,  by  marks  placed  upon  the 
materials  which  had  been  thus  prepared  at  a  distance,  the  individ 
ual  production  of  every  craftsman  was  easily  ascertained,  and  the 
means  were  provided  of  rewarding  merit  and  punishing  indolence. 


THE    SYMBOLISM    OF    SOLOMON'S    TEMPLE.  91 

have  received  the  name  of  "jewels,"  will  be  sufficient  tc 
give  some  idea  of  the  nature  of  what  may  be  called  the 
"  symbolic  alphabet "  of  Masonry.  Let  us  now  proceed 
to  a  brief  consideration  of  the  method  in  which  this  alpha 
bet  of  the  science  is  applied  to  the  more  elevated  and  ab- 
struser  portions  of  the  system,  and  which,  as  the  temple 
constitutes  its  most  important  type,  I  have  chosen  to  call 
the  "  Temple  Symbolism  of  Masonry." 

Both  Scripture  and  tradition  inform  us  that,  at  the  build 
ing  of  King  Solomon's  temple,  the  masons  were  divided 
into  different  classes,  each  engaged  in  different  tasks.  We 
learn,  from  the  Second  Book  of  Chronicles,  that  these 
classes  were  the  bearers  of  burdens,  the  hewers  of  stones, 
and  the  overseers,  called  by  the  old  masonic  writers  the 
Is/i  sabal,  the  Ish  chotzeb,  and  the  Menatzchim.  Now, 
without  pretending  to  say  that  the  modern  institution  has 
preserved  precisely  the  same  system  of  regulations  as  that 
which  was  observed  at  the  temple,  we  shall  certainly  find 
a  similarity  in  these  divisions  to  the  Apprentices,  Fellow 
Crafts  and  Master  Masons  of  our  own  day.  At  all  events, 
the  three  divisions  made  by  King  Solomon,  in  the  work 
men  at  Jerusalem,  have  been  adopted  as  the  types  of  the 
three  degrees  now  practised  in  speculative  Masonry  ;  and 
as  such  we  are,  therefore,  to  consider  them.  The  mode 
in  which  these  three  divisions  of  workmen  labored  in  con 
structing  the  temple,  has  been  beautifully  symbolized  in 
speculative  Masonry,  and  constitutes  an  important  and 
interesting  part  of  temple  symbolism. 

Thus  we  know,  from  our  own  experience  among  mod 
ern  workmen,  who  still  pursue  the  same  method,  as  well 
as  from  the  traditions  of  the  order,  that  the  implements 
used  in  the  quarries  were  few  and  simple,  the  work  there 


92  THE    SYMBOLISM    OF    SOLOMON'S    TEMPLE. 

requiring  necessarily,  indeed,  but  two  tools,  namely,  the 
twenty-four  inch  gauge,  or  two  foot  rule,  and  the  com 
mon  gavel,  or  stone-cutter's  hammer.  With  the  former 
implement,  the  operative  mason  took  the  necessary  dimen 
sions  of  the  stone  he  was  about  to  prepare,  and  with  the 
latter,  by  repeated  blows,  skilfully  applied,  he  broke  oft' 
every  unnecessary  protuberance,  and  rendered  it  smooth 
and  square,  and  fit  to  take  its  place  in  the  building. 

And  thus,  in  the  first  degree  of  speculative  Masonry, 
the  Entered  Apprentice  receives  these  simple  implements, 
as  the  emblematic  working  tools  of  his  profession,  with 
their  appropriate  symbolical  instruction.  To  the  opera 
tive  mason  their  mechanical  and  practical  use  alone  is 
signified,  and  nothing  more  of  value  does  their  presence 
convey  to  his  mind.  To  the  speculative  Mason  the  sight 
of  them  is  suggestive  of  far  nobler  and  sublimer  thoughts  ; 
they  teach  him  to  measure,  not  stones,  but  time  ;  not  to 
smooth  and  polish  the  marble  for  the  builder's  use,  but 
to  purify  and  cleanse  his  heart  from  every  vice  and  im 
perfection  that  would  render  it  unfit  for  a  place  in  the 
spiritual  temple  of  his  body. 

In  the  symbolic  alphabet  of  Freemasonry,  therefore,  the 
twenty-four  inch  gauge  is  a  symbol  of  time  well  employed  ; 
the  common  gavel,  of  the  purification  of  the  heart. 

Here  we  may  pause  for  a  moment  to  refer  to  one  of  the 
coincidences  between  Freemasonry  and  those  Mysteries* 
which  formed  so  important  a  part  of  the  ancient  religions, 

*  "  Each  of  the  pagan  gods  had  (besides  t\\e  public  and  open}  a 
secret  worship  paid  unto  him;  to  which  none  were  admitted  but 
those  who  had  been  selected  by  preparatory  ceremonies,  called 
Initiation.  This  secret  worship  was  termed  the  Mysteries."  — 
WARBURTON,  Div.  Leg.  7.  /.  p.  189. 


THE    SYMBOLISM    OF    SOLOMON'S    TEMPLE.  93 

and  which  coincidences  have  led  the  writers  on  this  sub 
ject  to  the  formation  of  a  well-supported  theory  that  there 
was  a  common  connection  between  them.  The  coinci 
dence  to  which  I  at  present  allude  is  this  :  in  all  these 
Mysteries  —  the  incipient  ceremony  of  initiation  —  the 
first  step  taken  by  the  candidate  was  a  lustration  or  puri 
fication.  The  aspirant  was  not  permitted  to  enter  the 
sacred  vestibule,  or  take  anv  part  in  the  secret  formula 
of  initiation,  until,  by  water  or  by  fire,  he  was  emblemati 
cally  purified  from  the  corruptions  of  the  world  which  he 
was  about  to  leave  behind.  I  need  not,  after  this,  do  more 
than  suggest  the  similarity  of  this  formula,  in  principle,  to 
a  corresponding  one  in  Freemasonry,  where  the  first  sym 
bols  presented  to  the  apprentice  are  those  which  inculcate 
a  purification  of  the  heart,  of  which  the  purification  of  the 
body  in  the  ancient  Mysteries  was  symbolic. 

We  no  longer  use  the  bath  or  the  fountain,  because  in 
our  philosophical  system  the  symbolization  is  more  ab 
stract,  if  I  may  use  the  term  ;  but  we  present  the  aspirant 
with  the  lamb-skin  apron,  the  gauge,  and  the  gavel,  as 
symbols  of  a  spiritual  purification.  The  design  is  the 
same,  but  the  mode  in  which  it  is  accomplished  is  dif 
ferent. 

Let  us  now  resume  the  connected  series  of  temple 
symbolism. 

At  the  building  of  the  temple,  the  stones  having  been 
thus  prepared  by  the  workmen  of  the  lowest  degree  (the 
Apprentices,  as  we  now  call  them,  the  aspirants  of  the 
ancient  Mysteries),  we  are  informed  that  they  were  trans 
ported  to  the  site  of  the  edifice  on  Mount  Moriah,  and 
were  there  placed  in  the  hands  of  another  class  of  work 
men,  who  are  now  technically  called  the  Fellow  Crafts, 


94  THE    SYMBOLISM    OF    SOLOMON'S    TEMPLE. 

and  who  correspond  to  the  Mystes,  or  those  who  had  re 
ceived  the  second  degree  of  the  ancient  Mysteries.  At  this 
stage  of  the  operative  work  more  extensive  and  important 
labors  were  to  be  performed,  and  accordingly  a  greater 
amount  of  skill  and  knowledge  was  required  of  those  to 
whom  these  labors  were  intrusted.  The  stones,  having 
been  prepared  by  the  Apprentices*  (for  hereafter,  in  speak 
ing  of  the  workmen  of  the  temple,  I  shall  use  the  equiva 
lent  appellations  of  the  more  modern  Masons),  were  now 
to  be  deposited  in  their  destined  places  in  the  building, 
and  the  massive  walls  were  to  be  erected.  For  these 
purposes  implements  of  a  higher  and  more  complicated 
character  than  the  gauge  and  gavel  were  necessary.  The 
square  was  required  to  fit  the  joints  with  sufficient  accu 
racy,  the  level  to  run  the  courses  in  a  horizontal  line,  and 
the  plumb  to  erect  the  whole  with  due  regard  to  perfect 
perpendicularity.  This  portion  of  the  labor  finds  its  sym 
bolism  in  the  second  degree  of  the  speculative  science, 
and  in  applying  this  symbolism  we  still  continue  to  refer 
to  the  idea  of  erecting  a  spiritual  temple  in  the  heart. 

The  necessary  preparations,  then,  having  been  made  in 
the  first  degree,  the  lessons  having  been  received  by  which 
the  aspirant  is  taught  to  commence  the  labor  of  life  with 
the  purification  of  the  heart,  as  a  Fellow  Craft  he  contin 
ues  the  task  by  cultivating  those  virtues  which  give  form 

*  It  must  be  remarked,  however,  that  many  of  the  Fellow  Crafts 
were  also  stone-cutters  in  the  mountains,  chotzeb  bahor,  and,  with 
their  nicer  implements,  more  accurately  adjusted  the  stones  which 
had  been  imperfectly  prepared  by  the  apprentices.  This  fact  does 
not  at  all  affect  the  character  of  the  symbolism  we  are  describing 
The  due  preparation  of  the  materials,  the  symbol  of  purification, 
was  necessarily  continued  in  all  the  degrees.  The  task  of  purifica 
tion  never  ceases. 


THE    SYMBOLISM    OF    SOLOMON  S    TEMPLE.  95 

and  impression  to  the  character,  as  well  adapted  stones 
give  shape  and  stability  to  the  building.  And  hence  the 
44  working  tools "  of  the  Fellow  Craft  are  referred,  in 
their  symbolic  application,  to  those  virtues.  In  the 
alphabet  of  symbolism,  we  find  the  square,  the  level, 
and  the  plumb  appropriated  to  this  second  degree.  The 
square  is  a  symbol  denoting  morality.  It  teaches  us  to 
apply  the  unerring  principles  of  moral  science  to  every 
action  of  our  lives,  to  see  that  all  the  motives  and  results 
of  our  conduct  shall  coincide  with  the  dictates  of  divine 
justice,  and  that  all  our  thoughts,  words,  and  deeds  shall 
harmoniously  conspire,  like  the  well-adjusted  and  rightly- 
squared  joints  of  an  edifice,  to  produce  a  smooth,  un 
broken  life  of  virtue. 

The  plumb  is  a  symbol  of  rectitude  of  conduct,  and 
inculcates  that  integrity  of  life  and  undeviating  course  of 
moral  uprightness  which  can  alone  distinguish  the  good 
and  just  man.  As  the  operative  workman  erects  his  tem 
poral  building  with  strict  observance  of  that  plumb-line, 
which  will  not  permit  him  to  deviate  a  hair's  breadth  to 
the  right  or  to  the  left,  so  the  speculative  Mason,  guided 
bv  the  unerring  principles  of  right  and  truth  inculcated 
in  the  symbolic  teachings  of  the  same  implement,  is  stead 
fast  in  the  pursuit  of  truth,  neither  bending  beneath  the 
frowns  of  adversity  nor  yielding  to  the  seductions  of 
prosperity.* 

The  level,  the  last  of  the  three  working  tools  of  the 
operative  craftsman,  is  a  symbol  of  equality  of  station. 
Not  that  equality  of  civil  or  social  position  which  is  to  be 

*  The  classical  reader  will  here  be  reminded  of  that  beautiful 
passage  of  Horace,  commencing  with  "  Justum  et  tenacem  pro- 
positi  virum."  —  Lib.  iii.  od.  3. 


96  THE    SYMBOLISM    OF    SOLOMON'S    TEMPLE. 

found  only  in  the  vain  dreams  of  the  anarchist  or  the 
Utopian,  but  that  great  moral  and  physical  equality  which 
affects  the  whole  human  race  as  the  children  of  one  com 
mon  Father,  who  causes  his  sun  to  shine  and  his  rain  to 
fall  on  all  alike,  and  who  has  so  appointed  the  universal 
lot  of  humanity,  that  death,  the  leveller  of  all  human 
greatness,  is  made  to  visit  with  equal  pace  the  prince's 
palace  and  the  peasant's  hut.* 

Here,  then,  we  have  three  more  signs  or  hieroglyphics 
added  to  our  alphabet  of  symbolism.  Others  there  are  in 
this  degree,  but  they  belong  to  a  higher  grade  of  interpre 
tation,  and  cannot  be  appropriately  discussed  in  an  essay 
on  temple  symbolism  only. 

We  now  reach  the  third  degree,  the  Master  Masons  of 
the  modern  science,  and  the  Epopts,  or  beholders  of  the 
sacred  things  in  the  ancient  Mysteries. 

In  the  third  degree  the  symbolic  allusions  to  the  temple 
of  Solomon,  and  the  implements  of  Masonry  employed 
in  its  construction,  are  extended  and  fully  completed.  At 
the  building  of  that  edifice,  we  have  already  seen  that  one 
class  of  the  workmen  was  employed  in  the  preparation 
of  the  materials,  while  another  was  engaged  in  placing 
those  materials  in  their  proper  position.  But  there  was 
a  third  and  higher  class,  —  the  master  workmen,  —  whose 
duty  it  was  to  superintend  the  two  other  classes,  and  to 
see  that  the  stones  were  not  only  duly  prepared,  but  that 
the  most  exact  accuracy  had  been  observed  in  giving  to 
them  their  true  juxtaposition  in  the  edifice.  It  was  then 
only  that  the  last  and  finishing  labor f  was  performed,  and 

*  "  Pallida  mors  sequo  pulsat  pede  pauperum  tabernas  Regum- 
que  turres." —  HOR.  lib.  i.  od.  4. 

t  It  is  worth  noticing  that  the  verb  natzach,  from  which  the  title 


THE    SYMBOLISM    OF    SOLOMON'S    TEMPLE.  97 

the  cement  was  applied  by  these  skilful  workmen,  to 
secure  the  materials  in  their  appropriate  places,  and  to 
unite  the  building  in  one  enduring  and  connected  mass. 
Hence  the  troivel,  wre  are  informed,  was  the  most  im 
portant,  though  of  course  not  the  only,  implement  in  use 
among  the  master  builders.  They  did  not  permit  this 
last,  indelible  operation  to  be  performed  by  any  hands 
less  skilful  than  their  own.  They  required  that  the  crafts 
men  should  prove  the  correctness  of  their  work  by  the 
square,  level,  and  plumb,  and  test,  by  these  unerring  in 
struments,  the  accuracy  of  their  joints  ;  and,  when  satisfied 
of  the  just  arrangement  of  every  part,  the  cement,  which 
was  to  give  an  unchangeable  union  to  the  whole,  was  then 
applied  by  themselves. 

Hence,  in  speculative  Masonry,  the  trowel  has  been 
assigned  to  the  third  degree  as  its  proper  implement,  and 
the  symbolic  meaning  which  accompanies  it  has  a  strict 
and  beautiful  reference  to  the  purposes  for  which  it  was 
used  in  the  ancient  temple  ;  for  as  it  was  there  employed 
"  to  spread  the  cement  which  united  the  building  in  one 
common  mass,"  so  is  it  selected  as  the  symbol  of  broth 
erly  love  —  that  cement  whose  object  is  to  unite  our  mys 
tic  association  in  one  sacred  and  harmonious  band  of 
brethren. 

of  the  menatzckim  (the  overseers  or  Master  Masons  in  the  ancient 
temple),  is  derived,  signifies  also  in  Hebrew  to  be  perfected,  to  be 
completed.  The  third  degree  is  the  perfection  of  the  symbolism 
of  the  temple,  and  its  lessons  lead  us  to  the  completion  of  life.  In 
like  manner  the  Mysteries,  says  Christie,  "  were  termed  xetaraJ, 
•perfections,  because  they  were  supposed  to  induce  a  perfectness  of 
life.  Those  who  were  purified  by  them  were  styled  Tshov/utvoi, 
and  rere^eafj^vot,  that  is,  brought  to  perfection." —  Observations 
on  Ouvarojf's  Essay  on  the  Eleusinian  Mysteries^  f.  183. 

7 


98  THE    SYMBOLISM    OF    SOLOMON'S    TEMPLE. 

Here,  then,  we  perceive  the  first,  or,  as  I  have  already 
called  it,  the  elementary  form  of  our  symbolism  —  the 
adaptation  of  the  terms,  and  implements,  and  processes 
of  an  operative  art  to  a  speculative  science.  The  temple 
is  now  completed.  The  stones  having  been  hewed, 
squared,  and  numbered  in  the  quarries  by  the  appren 
tices, —  having  been  properly  adjusted  by  the  craftsmen, 
and  finally  secured  in  their  appropriate  places,  with  the 
strongest  and  purest  cement,  by  the  master  builders,  — 
the  temple  of  King  Solomon  presented,  in  its  finish:  d  con 
dition,  so  noble  an  appearance  of  sublimity  and  grandeur 
as  to  well  deserve  to  be  selected,  as  it  has  been,  for  the 
type  or  symbol  of  that  immortal  temple  of  the  body, 
to  which  Christ  significantly  and  symbolically  alluded 
when  he  said,  u  Destroy  this  temple,  and  in  three  days  I 
will  raise  it  up." 

This  idea  of  representing  the  interior  and  spiritual  man 
by  a  material  temple  is  so  apposite  in  all  its  parts  as  to 
have  occurred  on  more  than  one  occasion  to  the  first 
teachers  of  Christianity.  Christ  himself  repeatedly  al 
ludes  to  it  in  other  passages,  and  the  eloquent  and  figu 
rative  St.  Paul  beautifully  extends  the  idea  in  one  of  his 
Epistles  to  the  Corinthians,  in  the  following  language : 
"  Know  ye  not  that  ye  are  the  temple  of  God,  and  that 
the  spirit  of  God  dwelleth  in  you?"  And  again,  in  a 
subsequent  passage  of  the  same  Epistle,  he  reiterates  the 
idea  in  a  more  positive  form  :  "  What,  know  ye  not  that 
your  body  is  the  temple  of  the  Holy  Ghost  which  is  in 
you,  which  ye  have  of  God,  and  ye  are  not  your  own?" 
And  Dr.  Adam  Clarke,  while  commenting  on  this  latter 
passage,  makes  the  very  allusions  which  have  been  the 
topic  of  discussion  in  the  present  essay.  "  As  truly," 


THE    SYMBOLISM    OF    SOLOMON'S    TEMPLE.  99 

says  he,  u  as  the  living  God  dwelt  in  the  Mosaic  taberna 
cle  and  in  the  temple  of  Solomon,  so  truly  does  the  Holy 
Ghost  dwell  in  the  souls  of  genuine  Christians;  and  as 
the  temple  and  all  its  utensils  were  holy,  separated  from 
all  common  and  profane  uses,  arid  dedicated  alone  to 
the  service  of  God,  so  the  bodies  of  genuine  Christians 
are  holy,  and  should  be  employed  in  the  service  of  God 
alone." 

The  idea,  therefore,  of  making  the  temple  a  symbol  of 
the  body,  is  not  exclusively  masonic  ;  but  the  mode  of 
treating  the  symbolism  by  a  reference  to  the  particular 
temple  of  Solomon,  and  to  the  operative  art  engaged  in 
its  construction,  is  peculiar  to  Freemasonry.  It  is  this 
which  isolates  it  from  all  other  similar  associations. 
Having  many  things  in  common  with  the  secret  societies 
and  religious  Mysteries  of  antiquity,  in  this  "  temple  sym 
bolism  "  it  differs  from  them  all. 


XIII. 

THE  FORM  OF  THE  LODGE. 

(Y/N  the  last  essay,  I  treated  of  that  symbolism  of 
the  masonic  system  which  makes  the  temple  of 
Jerusalem  the  archetype  of  a  lodge,  and  in  which, 
in  consequence,  all  the  symbols  are  referred  to 
the  connection  of  a  speculative  science  with  an  operative 
art.  I  propose  in  the  present  to  discourse  of  a  higher 
and  abstruser  mode  of  symbolism  ;  and  it  may  be  observed 
that,  in  coming  to  this  topic,  we  arrive,  for  the  first  time, 
at  that  chain  of  resemblances  which  unites  Freemasonry 
with  the  ancient  systems  of  religion,  and  which  has  given 
rise,  among  masonic  writers,  to  the  names  of  Pure  and 
Spurious  Freemasonry  —  the  pure  Freemasonry  being  that 
system  of  philosophical  religion  which,  coming  through 
the  line  of  the  patriarchs,  was  eventually  modified  by 
influences  exerted  at  the  building  of  King  Solomon's 
temple,  and  the  spurious  being  the  same  system  as  it 
was  altered  and  corrupted  by  the  polytheism  of  the 
nations  of  heathendom.* 

*  Dr.  Oliver,  in  the  first  or  preliminary  lecture  of  his  "  Histori 
cal  Landmarks,"  very  accurately  describes  the  difference  between 


THE  FORM  OF  THE  LODGE.  IOI 

As  this  abstruser  mode  of  symbolism,  if  less  peculiar 
to  the  masonic  system,  is,  however,  far  more  interesting 
than  the  one  which  was  treated  in  the  previous  essay,  — 
because  it  is  more  philosophical,  —  I  propose  to  give  an 
extended  investigation  of  its  character.  And,  in  the  first 
place,  there  is  what  may  be  called  an  elementary  view  of 
this  abstruser  symbolism,  which  seems  almost  to  be  a 
corollary  from  what  has  already  been  described  in  the 
preceding  article. 

As  each  individual  mason  has  been  supposed  to  be  the 
symbol  of  a  spiritual  temple,  —  "  a  temple  not  made  with 
hands,  eternal  in  the  heavens,"  —  the  lodge  or  collected 
assemblage  of  these  masons,  is  adopted  as  a  symbol  of 
the  world.* 

the    pure  or   primitive   Freemasonry  of  the  Noachites,   and   the 
spurious  Freemasonry  of  the  heathens. 

*  The  idea  of  the  world,  as  symbolically  representing  God's 
temple,  has  been  thus  beautifully  developed  in  a  hymn  by  N.  P. 
Willis,  written  for  the  dedication  of  a  church :  — 

"  The  perfect  world  by  Adam  trod 
Was  the  first  temple  built  by  God; 
His  fiat  laid  the  corner  stone, 
And  heaved  its  pillars,  one  by  one. 

"  He  hung  its  starry  roof  on  high  — 
The  broad,  illimitable  sky; 
He  spread  its  pavement,  green  and  bright, 
And  curtained  it  with  morning  light. 

"  The  mountains  in  their  places  stood, 
The  sea,  the  sky,  and  '  all  was  good ;  ' 
And  when  its  first  pure  praises  rang, 
The  '  morning  stars  together  sang.' 

"  Lord,  'tis  not  ours  to  make  the  sea, 
And  earth,  and  sky,  a  house  for  thee; 
But  in  thy  sight  our  offering  stands, 
A  humbler  temple,  made  with  hands." 


IO2  THE  FORM  OF  THE  LODGE. 

It  is  in  the  first  degree  of  Masonry,  more  particular 
that  this  species  of  symbolism  is  developed.     In  its  detaiJ 
it  derives  the  characteristics  of  resemblance  upon  which 
it  is  founded,  from  the  form,  the  supports,  the  ornaments, 
and  general   construction  and   internal  organization  of  a 
lodge,  in  all  of  which  the  symbolic  reference  to  the  world 
is  beautifully  and  consistently  sustained. 

The  form  of  a  masonic  lodge  is  said  to  be  a  parallelo 
gram,  or  oblong  square  ;  its  greatest  length  being  from 
east  to  west,  its  breadth  from  north  to  south.  A  square, 
a  circle,  a  triangle,  or  any  other  form  but  that  of  an 
oblong  square,  would  be  eminently  incorrect  and  unma- 
sonic,  because  such  a  figure  would  not  be  an  expression 
of  the  symbolic  idea  which  is  intended  to  be  conveyed. 

Now,  as  the  world  is  a  globe,  or,  to  speak  more  accu 
rately,  an  oblate  spheroid,  the  attempt  to  make  an  oblong 
square  its  symbol  would  seem,  at  first  view,  to  present 
insuperable  difficulties.  But  the  system  of  masonic  sym 
bolism  has  stood  the  test  of  too  long  an  experience  to  be 
easily  found  at  fault ;  and  therefore  this  very  symbol 
furnishes  a  striking  evidence  of  the  antiquity  of  the  order. 
At  the  Solomonic  era — the  era  of  the  building  of  the 
temple  at  Jerusalem  —  the  world,  it  must  be  remem 
bered,  was  supposed  to  have  that  very  oblong  form,* 
which  has  been  here  symbolized.  If,  for  instance,  on  a 
map  of  the  world  we  should  inscribe  an  oblong  figure 
whose  boundary  lines  would  circumscribe  and  include 

*  "  The  idea,"  says  Dudley,  "  that  the  earth  is  a  level  surface, 
and  of  a  square  form,  is  so  likely  to  have  been  entertained  by 
persons  of  little  experience  and  limited  observation,  that  it  may 
be  justly  supposed  to  have  prevailed  generally  in  the  early  ages 
of  the  world."  —  Naology,  p.  7. 


THE    FORM    OF    THE    LODGE.  103 

just  that  portion  which  was  known  to  be  inhabited  in  the 
days  of  Solomon,  these  lines,  running  a  short  distance 
north  and  south  of  the  Mediterranean  Sea,  and  extending 
from  Spain  in  the  west  to  Asia  Minor  in  the  east,  would 
form  an  oblong  square,  including  the  southern  shore  of 
Europe,  the  northern  shore  of  Africa,  and  the  western 
district  of  Asia,  the  length  of  the  parallelogram  being 
about  sixty  degrees  from  east  to  west,  and  its  breadth 
being  about  twenty  degrees  from  north  to  south.  This 
oblong  square,  thus  enclosing  the  whole  of  what  was  then 
supposed  to  be  the  habitable  globe,*  would  precisely 
represent  what  is  symbolically  said  to  be  tJieform  of  the 
lodge,  while  the  Pillars  of  Hercules  in  the  west,  on  each 
side  of  the  straits  of  Gades  or  Gibraltar,  might  appropri 
ately  be  referred  to  the  two  pillars  that  stood  at  the  porch 
of  the  temple. 

NORTH. 


SOUTH. 

*  The  quadrangular  form  of  the  earth  is  preserved  in  almost  all 
the  scriptural  allusions  that  are  made  to  it.     Thus  Isaiah  (xi.  12) 


104  THE  FORM  OF  THE  LODGE. 

A  masonic  lodge  is,  therefore,  a  symbol  of  the  world. 

This  symbol  is  sometimes,  by  a  very  usual  figure  of 
speech,  extended,  in  its  application,  and  the  world  and 
the  universe  are  made  synonymous,  when  the  lodge 
becomes,  of  course,  a  symbol  of  the  universe.  But  in 
this  case  the  definition  of  the  symbol  is  extended,  and  to 
the  ideas  of  length  and  breadth  are  added  those  of  height 
and  depth,  and  the  lodge  is  said  to  assume  the  form  of  a 
double  cube.*  The  solid  contents  of  the  earth  below 
and  the  expanse  of  the  heavens  above  will  then  give  the 
outlines  of  the  cube,  and  the  whole  created  universe  f  will 
be  included  within  the  symbolic  limits  of  a  mason's  lodge. 

By  always  remembering  that  the  lodge  is  the  symbol, 
in  its  form  and  extent,  of  the  world,  we  are  enabled, 
readily  and  rationally,  to  explain  many  other  symbols, 
attached  principally  to  the  first  degree  ;  and  we  are  ena 
bled  to  collate  and  compare  them  with  similar  symbols 
of  other  kindred  institutions  of  antiquity,  for  it  should  be 

says,  "The  Lord  shall  gather  together  the  dispersed  of  Judah  from 
the  four  corners  of  the  earth  ;  "  and  we  find  in  the  Apocalypse  (xx. 
9)  the  prophetic  version  of  "  four  angels  standing  on  the  four 
corners  of  the  earth." 

*  "The  form  of  the  lodge  ought  to  be  a  double  cube,  as  an  ex 
pressive  emblem  of  the  powers  of  darkness  and  light  in  the  crea 
tion." —  OLIVER,  Landmarks,  i.  p.  135,  note  37. 

t  Not  that  whole  visible  universe,  in  its  modern  signification,  as 
including  solar  systems  upon  solar  systems,  rolling  in  illimitable 
space,  but  in  the  more  contracted  view  of  the  ancients,  where  the 
earth  formed  the  floor,  and  the  sky  the  ceiling.  "  To  the  vulgar 
and  untaught  eye,"  says  Dudley,  "  the  heaven  or  sky  above  the 
earth  appears  to  be  co-extensive  with  the  earth,  and  to  take  the 
same  form,  enclosing  a  cubical  space,  of  which  the  earth  was  the 
base,  the  heaven  or  sky  the  upper  surface."  —  Naology,  7.  — And 
it  is  to  this  notion  of  the  universe  that  the  masonic  symbol  of  the 
lodge  refers. 


THE  FORM  OF  THE  LODGE.  105 

observed  that  this  symbolism  of  the  world,  represented 
by  a  place  of  initiation,  widely  pervaded  all  the  ancient 
rites  and  mysteries. 

It  will,  no  doubt,  be  interesting  to  extend  our  investi 
gations  on  this  subject,  with  a  particular  view  to  the 
method  in  which  this  symbolism  of  the  world  or  the 
universe  was  developed,  in  some  of  its  most  prominent 
details ;  and  for  this  purpose  I  shall  select  the  mystical 
explanation  of  the  officers  of  a  lodge,  its  covering,  and 
a  portion  of  its  ornaments. 


XIY. 

THE    OFFICERS   OF  A  LODGE. 

Three  Principal  Officers  of  a  lodge  are,  it  is 
needless  to  say,  situated  in  the  east,  the  west,  and 
the  south.  Now,  bearing  in  mind  that  the  lodge 
is  a  symbol  of  the  world,  or  the  universe,  the  reference 
of  these  three  officers  to  the  sun  at  its  rising,  its  setting, 
and  its  meridian  height,  must  at  once  suggest  itself. 

This  is  the  first  development  of  the  symbol,  and  a  very 
brief  inquiry  will  furnish  ample  evidence  of  its  antiquity 
and  its  universality. 

In  the  Brahminical  initiations  of  Hindostan,  which  are 
among  the  earliest  that  have  been  transmitted  to  us, 
and  may  almost  be  considered  as  the  cradle  of  all  the 
others  of  subsequent  ages  and  various  countries,  the 
ceremonies  were  performed  in  vast  caverns,  the  remains  of 
some  of  which,  at  Salsette,  Elephanta,  and  a  few  other 
places,  will  give  the  spectator  but  a  very  inadequate  idea 
of  the  extent  and  splendor  of  these  ancient  Indian  lodges.* 

*  "  These  rocky  shrines,  the  formation  of  which  Mr.  Grose  sup 
poses  to  have  been  a  labor  equal  to  that  of  erecting  the  Pyramids 


THE    OFFICERS    OF   A    LODGE.  IQ>J 

More  imperfect  remains  than  these  are  still  to  be  found  in 
great  numbers  throughout  Hindostan  and  Cashmere. 
Their  form  was  sometimes  that  of  a  cross,  emblematic 
of  the  four  elements  of  which  the  earth  is  composed,  — 
fire,  water,  air,  and  earth,  —  but  more  generally  an  oval, 
as  a  representation  of  the  mundane  egg,  which,  in  the 
ancient  systems,  was  a  symbol  of  the  world.* 

The  interior  of  the  cavern  of  initiation  was  lighted  by 
innumerable  lamps,  and  there  sat  in  the  east,  the  west, 
and  the  south  the  principal  Hierophants,  or  explainers  of 
the  Mysteries,  as  the  representatives  of  Brahma,  Vishnu, 
and  Siva.  Now,  Brahma  was  the  supreme  deity  of  the 

of  Egypt,  are  of  various  height,  extent,  and  depth.  They  are 
partitioned  out,  by  the  labor  of  the  hammer  and  the  chisel,  into 
many  separate  chambers,  and  the  roof,  which  in  the  pagoda  of 
Elephanta  is  flat,  but  in  that  of  Salsette  is  arched,  is  supported  by 
rows  of  pillars  of  great  thickness,  and  arranged  with  much 
regularity.  The  walls  are  crowded  with  gigantic  figures  of  men 
and  women,  engaged  in  various  actions,  and  portrayed  in  various 
whimsical  attitudes ;  and  they  are  adorned  with  several  evident 
symbols  of  the  religion  now  prevailing  in  India.  Above,  as  in  a 
sky,  once  probably  adorned  with  gold  and  azure,  in  the  same 
manner  as  Mr.  Savary  lately  observed  in  the  ruinous  remains  of 
some  ancient  Egyptian  temples,  are  seen  floating  the  children  of 
imagination,  genii  and  dewtahs,  in  multitudes,  and  along  the 
cornice,  in  high  relief,  are  the  figures  of  elephants,  horses,  and 
lions,  executed  with  great  accuracy.  Two  of  the  principal  figures 
at  Salsette  are  twenty-seven  feet  in  height,  and  of  proportionate 
magnitude;  the  very  bust  only  of  the  triple-headed  deity  in  the 
grand  pagoda  of  Elephanta  measures  fifteen  feet  from  the  base  to 
the  top  of  the  cap,  while  the  face  of  another,  if  Mr.  Grose,  who 
measured  it,  may  be  credited,  is  above  five  feet  in  length,  and  of 
corresponding  breadth."  —  MAURICE,  Ind.  Ant.  vol.  ii.  p.  135. 

*  According  to  Faber,  the  egg  was  a  symbol  of  the  world  or 
megacosm,  and  also  of  the  ark,  or  microcosm,  as  the  lunette  or 
crescent  was  a  symbol  of  the  Great  Father,  the  egg  and  lunette  — 
which  was  the  hieroglyphic  of  the  god  Lunus,  at  Heliopolis  —  was 
a  symbol  of  the  world  proceeding  from  the  Great  Father.  —  Pagan 
Idolatry,  vol.  i.  b.  i.  ch.  iv. 


IO8  THE    OFFICERS    OF   A    LODGE. 

Hindoos,  borrowed  or  derived  from  the  Sun-god  of  their 
Sabean  ancestors,  and  Vishnu  and  Siva  were  but  mani 
festations  of  his  attributes.  We  learn  from  the  Indian 
Pantheon  that  "  when  the  sun  rises  in  the  east,  he  is 
Brahma  ;  when  he  gains  his  meridian  in  the  south,  he  is 
Siva  ;  and  when  he  sets  in  the  west,  he  is  Vishnu." 

Again,  in  the  Zoroasteric  mysteries  of  Persia,  the  tem 
ple  of  initiation  was  circular,  being  made  so  to  repre 
sent  the  universe ;  and  the  sun  in  the  east,  with  the 
surrounding  zodiac,  formed  an  indispensable  part  of  the 
ceremony  of  reception.* 

In  the  Egyptian  mysteries  of  Osiris,  the  same  reference 
to  the  sun  is  contained,  and  Herodotus,  who  was  himself 
an  initiate,  intimates  that  the  ceremonies  consisted  in  the 
representation  of  a  Sun-god,  who  had  been  incarnate,  that 
is,  had  appeared  upon  earth,  or  rose,  and  who  was  at 
length  put  to  death  by  Typhon,  the  symbol  of  darkness, 
typical  of  the  sun's  setting. 

In  the  great  mysteries  of  Eleusis,f  which  were  cele 
brated  at  Athens,  we  learn  from  St.  Chrysostom,  as  well 

*  Zoroaster  taught  that  the  sun  was  the  most  perfect  fire  of  God, 
the  throne  of  his  glory,  and  the  residence  of  his  divine  presence, 
and  he  therefore  instructed  his  disciples  "  to  direct  all  their  wor 
ship  to  God  first  towards  the  sun  (which  they  called  Mithras),  and 
next  towards  their  sacred  fires,  as  being  the  things  in  which  God 
chiefly  dwelt;  and  their  ordinary  way  of  worship  was  to  do  so 
towards  both.  For  when  they  came  before  these  fires  to  worship, 
they  ahvays  approached  them  on  the  west  side,  that,  having  their 
faces  towards  them  and  also  towards  the  rising  sun  at  the  same 
time,  they  might  direct  their  worship  to  both.  And  in  this  posture 
they  always  performed  every  act  of  their  worship."  —  PRIDEAUX. 
Connection,  i.  216. 

f  "  The  mysteries  of  Ceres  (or  Eleusis)  are  principally  dis 
tinguished  from  all  others  as  having  been  the  depositories  of  cer 
tain  traditions  coeval  with  the  world."  —  OUVAROFF,  Essay  on  the 
Mysteries  of  Eleusis,  p.  6. 


THE    OFFICERS    OF   A    LODGE.  109 

as  other  authorities,  that  the  temple  of  initiation  was 
symbolic  of  the  universe,  and  we  know  that  one  of  the 
officers  represented  the  sun.* 

In  the  Celtic  mysteries  of  the  Druids,  the  temple  of 
initiation  was  either  oval,  to  represent  the  mundane  egg 
• —  a  symbol,  as  has  already  been  said,  of  the  world  ;  or 
circular,  because  the  circle  was  a  symbol  of  the  universe  ; 
or  cruciform,  in  allusion  to  the  four  elements,  or  constitu 
ents  of  the  universe.  In  the  Island  of  Lewis,  in  Scot 
land,  there  is  one  combining  the  cruciform  and  circular 
form.  There  is  a  circle,  consisting  of  twelve  stones, 
while  three  more  are  placed  in  the  east,  and  as  many  in 
the  west  and  south,  and  thirty-eight,  in  two  parallel  lines, 
in  the  north,  forming  an  avenue  to  the  circular  temple. 
In  the  centre  of  the  circle  is  the  image  of  the  god.  In 
the  initiations  into  these  rites,  the  solar  deity  performed  an 
important  part,  and  the  celebrations  commenced  at  day 
break,  when  the  sun  was  hailed  on  his  appearance  above 
the  horizon  as  "  the  god  of  victory,  the  king  who  rises  in 
light  and  ascends  the  sky." 

But  I  need  not  multiply  these  instances  of  sun-worship. 
Every  country  and  religion  of  the  ancient  world  would 
afford  one. |  Sufficient  has  been  cited  to  show  the  com- 

*  The  dadouchus,  or  torch-bearer,  carried  a  symbol  of  the  sun. 

f  "Indeed,  the  most  ancient  superstition  of  all  nations,"  says 
Maurice,  "  has  been  the  worship  of  the  sun,  as  the  lord  of  heaven 
and  the  governor  of  the  world ;  and  in  particular  it  prevailed  in 
Phoenicia,  Chaldaea,  Egypt,  and  from  later  information  we  may 
add,  Peru  and  Mexico,  represented  in  a  variety  of  ways,  and  con 
cealed  under  a  multitude  of  fanciful  names.  Through  all  the 
revolutions  of  time  the  great  luminary  of  heaven  hath  exacted 
from  the  generations  of  men  the  tribute  of  devotion."  —  Indian 
Antiquities,  vol.  ii.  p.  91. 


IIO  THE    OFFICERS    OF    A    LODGE. 

plete  coincidence,  in  reference  to  the  sun,  between  the 
symbolism  of  Freemasonry  and  that  of  the  ancient  rites 
and  Mysteries,  and  to  suggest  for  them  a  common  origin, 
the  sun  being  always  in  the  former  system,  from  the 
earliest  times  of  the  primitive  or  patriarchal  Masonry, 
considered  simply  as  a  manifestation  of  the  Wisdom, 
Strength,  and  Beauty  of  the  Divine  Architect,  visibly 
represented  by  the  position  of  the  three  principal  officers 
of  a  lodge,  while  by  the  latter,  in  their  degeneration 
from,  and  corruption  of  the  true  Noachic  faith,  it  was 
adopted  as  the  special  object  of  adoration. 


XV. 

THE  POINT  WITHIN  A  CIRCLE. 

Point  within  a  Circle  is  another  symbol  of 
great  importance  in  Freemasonry,  and  commands 
peculiar  attention  in  this  connection  with  the  an 
cient  symbolism  of  the  universe  and  the  solar  orb. 
Everybody  who  has  read  a  masonic  "Monitor"  is  well 
acquainted  with  the  usual  explanation  of  this  symbol. 
We  are  told  that  the  point  represents  an  individual 
brother,  the  circle  the  boundary  line  of  his  duty  to  God 
and  man,  and  the  two  perpendicular  parallel  lines  the 
patron  saints  of  the  order  —  St.  John  the  Baptist  and  St. 
John  the  Evangelist. 

Now,  this  explanation,  trite  and  meagre  as  it  is,  may 
do  very  well  for  the  exoteric  teaching  of  the  order;  but 
the  question  at  this  time  is,  not  how  it  has  been  explained 
by  modern  lecturers  and  masonic  system-makers,  but 
what  was  the  ancient  interpretation  of  the  symbol,  and 
how  should  it  be  read  as  a  sacred  hieroglyphic  in  refer 
ence  to  the  true  philosophic  system  which  constitutes  the 
real  essence  and  character  of  Freemasonry? 


112  THE    POINT    WITHIN   A    CIRCLE. 

Perfectly  to  understand  this  symbol,  I  must  refer,  as  a 
preliminary  matter,  to  the  worship  of  the  Phallus,  a 
peculiar  modification  of  sun-worship,  which  prevailed  to 
a  great  extent  among  the  nations  of  antiquity. 

The  Phallus  was  a  sculptured  representation  of  the 
membrum  virile,  or  male  organ  of  generation,*  and  the 
worship  of  it  is  said  to  have  originated  in  Egypt,  where, 
after  the  murder  of  Osiris  by  Typhon,  which  is  sym 
bolically  to  be  explained  as  the  destruction  or  deprivation 
of  the  sun's  light  by  night,  Isis,  his  wife,  or  the  symbol 
of  nature,  in  the  search  for  his  mutilated  body,  is  said  to 
have  found  all  the  parts  except  the  organs  of  generation, 
which  myth  is  simply  symbolic  of  the  fact,  that  the  sun 
having  set,  its  fecundating  and  invigorating  power  had 
ceased.  The  Phallus,  therefore,  as  the  symbol  of  the 
male  generative  principle,  was  very  universally  venerated 
among  the  ancients,f  and  that  too  as  a  religious  rite, 
without  the  slightest  reference  to  any  impure  or  lascivious 

*  Facciolatus  thus  defines  the  Phallus:  "penis  ligneus,  vel 
vitreus,  vel  coriaceus,  quern  in  Bacchi  festis  plaustro  impositum 
per  rura  et  urbes  magno  honore  circumferebant."  —  Lex.  in  voc. 

t  The  exhibition  of  these  images  in  a  colossal  form,  before  the 
gates  of  ancient  temples,  was  common.  Lucian  tells  us  of  two 
colossal  Phalli,  each  one  hundred  and  eighty  feet  high,  which 
stood  in  the  fore  court  of  the  temple  at  Hierapolis.  Mailer,  in  his 
"  Ancient  Art  and  its  Remains,"  mentions,  on  the  authority  of 
Leake,  the  fact  that  a  colossal  Phallus,  which  once  stood  on  the 
top  of  the  tomb  of  the  Lydian  king  Halyattes,  is  now  lying  near 
the  same  spot;  it  is  not  an  entire  Phallus,  but  only  the  head  of 
one;  it  is  twelve  feet  in  diameter  below  and  nine  feet  over  the 
glands.  The  Phallus  has  even  been  found,  so  universal  was  this 
worship,  among  the  savages  of  America.  Dr.  Arthaut  discovered, 
in  the  year  1790,  a  marble  Phallic  image  in  a  cave  of  the  island  of 
St.  Domingo. —  CLAVEL,  Hist.  Pittoresq.  des  Religions,  p.  9. 


THE    POINT    WITHIN    A    CIRCLE.  113 

application.*  He  is  supposed,  by  some  commentators,  to 
be  the  god  mentioned  under  the  name  of  Baal-peor,  in  the 
Book  of  Numbers,-]-  as  having  been  worshipped  by  the 
idolatrous  Moabites.  Among  the  eastern  nations  of  India 
the  same  symbol  was  prevalent,  under  the  name  of  "  Lin- 
gam."  But  the  Phallus  or  Lingam  was  a  representation 
of  the  male  principle  only.  To  perfect  the  circle  of 
generation  it  is  necessary  to  advance  one  step  farther. 
Accordingly  we  find  in  the  Cteis  of  the  Greeks,  and  the 
Tbni  of  the  Indians,  a  symbol  of  the  female  generative 
principle,  of  co-extensive  prevalence  with  the  Phallus. 
The  Cteis  was  a  circular  and  concave  pedestal,  or  recep 
tacle,  on  which  the  Phallus  or  column  rested,  and  from  the 
centre  of  which  it  sprang. 

The  union  of  the  Phallus  and  Cteis,  or  the  Lingam  and 
Yoni,  in  one  compound  figure,  as  an  object  of  adoration, 
was  the  most  usual  mode  of  representation.  This  was  in 

*  Sonnerat  (Voyage  aux  Indes  Orient,  i.  p.  118)  observes,  that 
the  professors  of  this  worship  were  of  the  purest  principles  and 
most  unblemished  conduct,  and  it  seems  never  to  have  entered 
into  the  heads  of  the  Indian  legislator  and  people  that  anything 
natural  could  be  grossly  obscene.  —  Sir  William  Jones  remarks 
(Asiatic  Researches,  i.  254),  that  from  the  earliest  periods  the  wo 
men  of  Asia,  Greece,  and  Italy  wore  this  symbol  as  a  jewel,  and 
Clavel  tells  us  that  a  similar  usage  prevails  at  this  day  among  the 
women  in  some  of  the  villages  of  Brittany.  Seely  tells  us  that  the 
Lingam,  or  Indian  Phallus,  is  an  emblem  as  frequently  met  with 
in  Hindostan  as  the  cross  is  in  Catholic  countries. —  Wonders  of 
Elora,  p.  278. 

t  Num.  xxv.  1-3.  See  also  Psalrn  cvi.  28:  "They joined  them 
selves  also  unto  Baal-peor,  and  ate  the  sacrifices  of  the  dead." 
This  last  expression,  according  to  Russel,  has  a  distinct  reference 
to  the  physical  qualities  of  matter,  and  to  the  time  when  death,  by 
the  winter  absence  of  the  solar  heat,  gets,  as  it  were,  possession 
of  the  earth.  Baal-peor  was,  he  says,  the  sun  exercising  his 
powers  of  fecundity.  —  Connection  of  Sacred  and  Profane  History 

8 


114  THE    PO!NT    WITHIN    A    CIRCLE. 

strict  accordance  with  the  whole  system  of  ancie  •.  my 
thology,  which  was  founded  upon  a  worship  of  the  prolific 
powers  of  nature.  All  the  deities  of  pagan  antiquity, 
however  numerous  they  may  be,  can  always  be  reduced 
to  the  two  different  forms  of  the  generative  principle  — 
the  active,  or  male,  and  the  passive,  or  female.  Hence 
the  gods  were  always  arranged  in  pairs,  as  Jupiter  and 
Juno,  Bacchus  and  Venus,  Osiris  and  Isis.  But  the 
ancients  went  farther.  Believing  that  the  procreative  and 
productive  powers  of  nature  might  be  conceived  to  exist 
in  the  same  individual,  they  made  the  older  of  their  deities 
hermaphrodite,  and  used  the  term  &<>(>£  rodekvg,  or  man- 
virgin^  to  denote  the  union  of  the  two  sexes  in  the  same 
divine  person.* 

Thus,  in  one  of  the  Orphic  Hymns,  we  find  this  line  :  — 


"  Zetig  o.Q(jrjv  y^eio,  Zevg  ajifiyojog  eVrtaro 
Jove  was  created  a  male  and  an  unspotted  virgin. 

And  Plutarch,  in  his  tract  "  On  Isis  and  Osiris,"  says, 
"  God,  who  is  a  male  and  female  intelligence,  being  both 
life  and  light,  brought  forth  another  intelligence,  the 
Creator  of  the  World." 

Now,  this  hermaphrodism  of  the  Supreme  Divinity 
was  again  supposed  to  be  represented  by  the  sun,  which 
\\as  the  male  generative  energy,  and  by  nature,  or  the 
universe,  which  was  the  female  prolific  principle.f  And 

*  Is  there  not  a  seeming  reference  to  this  thought  of  divine 
hermaphrodism  in  the  well-known  passage  of  Genesis?  "  So  God 
created  man  in  his  own  image,  in  the  image  of  God  created  he 
him:  male  and  female  created  he  them."  And  so  being  created 
"  male  and  female,"  they  were  "  in  the  image  of  God." 

t  The  world  being  animated  by  man,  says  Creuzer,  in  his 
learned  work  on  Symbolism,  received  from  him  the  two  sexes, 


THE    POINT    WITHIN    A    CIRCLE.  115 

this  union  was  symbolized  in  different  ways,  but  princi 
pally  by  the  point  within  the  circle,  the  point  indicating 
the  sun,  and  the  circle  the  universe,  invigorated  and  fer 
tilized  by  his  generative  rays.  And  in  some  of  the  Indian 
cave-temples,  this  allusion  was  made  more  manifest  by 
the  inscription  of  the  signs  of  the  zodiac  on  the  circle. 

So  far,  then,  we  arrive  at  the  true  interpretation  of  the 
masonic  symbolism  of  the  point  within  the  circle.  It  is 
the  same  thing,  but  under  a  different  form,  as  the  Master 
and  Wardens  of  a  lodge.  The  Master  and  Wardens  are 
symbols  of  the  sun,  the  lodge  of  the  universe,  or  world, 
just  as  the  point  is  the  symbol  of  the  same  sun,  and  the 
surrounding  circle  of  the  universe. 

But  the  two  perpendicular  parallel  lines  remain  to  be 
explained.  Every  one  is  familiar  with  the"  very  recent 
interpretation,  that  they  represent  the  two  Saints  John, 
the  Baptist  and  the  Evangelist.  But  this  modern  exposi 
tion  must  be  abandoned,  if  we  desire  to  obtain  the  true 
ancient  signification. 

In  the  first  place,  we  must  call  to  mind  the  fact  that,  at 
two  particular  points  of  his  course,  the  sun  is  found  in 
the  zodiacal  signs  of  Cancer  and  Capricorn.  These 
points  are  astronomically  distinguished  as  the  summer 
and  winter  solstice.  When  the  sun  is  in  these  points,  he 

represented  by  heaven  and  the  earth.  Heaven,  as  the  fecundating 
principle,  was  male,  and  the  source  of  fire;  the  earth,  as  the 
fecundated,  was  female,  and  the  source  of  humidity.  All  things 
issued  from  the  alliance  of  these  two  principles.  The  vivifying 
powers  of  the  heavens  are  concentrated  in  the  sun,  and  the  earth, 
eternally  fixed  in  the  place  which  it  occupies,  receives  the  emana 
tions  from  the  sun,  through  the  medium  of  the  moon,  which  sheds 
upon  the  earth  the  germs  which  the  sun  had  deposited  in  its 
fertile  bosom.  The  Lingam  is  at  once  the  symbol  and  the 
mystery  of  this  religious  idea. 


Il6  THE    POINT    WITHIN    A    CIRCLE. 

has  reached  his  greatest  northern  and  southern  declina 
tion,  and  produces  the  most  evident  effects  on  the  temper 
ature  of  the  seasons,  and  on  the  length  of  the  days  and 
nights.  These  points,  if  we  suppose  the  circle  to  repre 
sent  the  sun's  apparent  course,  will  be  indicated  by  the 
points  where  the  parallel  lines  touch  the  circle,  or,  in 
other  words,  the  parallels  will  indicate  the  limits  of  the 
sun's  extreme  northern  and  southern  declination,  when 
he  arrives  at  the  solstitial  points  of  Cancer  and  Capricorn. 
But  the  days  when  the  sun  reaches  these  points  are, 
respectively,  the  2ist  of  June  and  the  22d  of  December, 
and  this  will  account  for  their  subsequent  application  to 
the  two  Saints  John,  whose  anniversaries  have  been 
placed  by  the  church  near  those  days. 


XVI. 


THE  COVERING  OF  THE  LODGE. 


Covering  of  the  lodge  is  another,  and  must  be 
our  last  reference  to  this  symbolism  of  the  world 
or  the  universe.  The  mere  mention  of  the  fact 
that  this  covering  is  figuratively  supposed  to  be  "  a 
clouded  canopy,"  or  the  firmament,  on  which  the  host  of 
stars  is  represented,  will  be  enough  to  indicate  the  con 
tinued  allusion  to  the  symbolism  of  the  world.  The 
lodge,  as  a  representative  of  the  world,  is  of  course  sup 
posed  to  have  no  other  roof  than  the  heavens  ;  *  and  it 
would  scarcely  be  necessary  to  enter  into  any  discussion 
on  the  subject,  were  it  not  that  another  symbol  —  the 
theological  ladder  —  is  so  intimately  connected  with  it, 
that  the  one  naturally  suggests  the  other.  Now,  this 
mystic  ladder,  which  connects  the  ground  floor  of  the 

*  Such  was  the  opinion  of  some  of  the  ancient  sun-worshippers, 
whose  adorations  were  alwaj-s  performed  in  the  open  air,  because 
they  thought  no  temple  was  spacious  enough  to  contain  the  sun; 
and  hence  the  saying,  "  Mundus  universus  est  templum  solis  "  — 
the  universe  is  the  temple  of  the  sun.  Like  our  ancient  brethren, 
they  worshipped  only  on  the  highest  hills.  Another  analogy. 

117 


Il8          THE  COVERING  OF  THE  LODGE. 

lodge  with  its  roof  or  covering,  is  another  important  and 
interesting  link,  which  binds,  with  one  common  chain, 
the  symbolism  and  ceremonies  of  Freemasonry,  and  the 
symbolism  and  rites  of  the  ancient  initiations. 

This  mystical  ladder,  which  in  Masonry  is  referred  to 
"  the  theological  ladder,  which  Jacob  in  his  vision  saw, 
reaching  from  earth  to  heaven,"  was  widely  dispersed 
among  the  religions  of  antiquity,  where  it  was  always 
supposed  to  consist  of  seven  rounds  or  steps. 

For  instance,  in  the  Mysteries  of  Mithras,  in  Persia, 
where  there  were  seven  stages  or  degrees  of  initiation, 
there  was  erected  in  the  temples,  or  rather  caves,  —  for  it 
was  in  them  that  the  initiation  was  conducted,  —  a  high 
ladder,  of  seven  steps  or  gates,  each  of  which  was  dedi- 
cated%to  one  of  the  planets,  which  was  typified  by  one  of 
the  metals,  the  topmost  step  representing  the  sun,  so  that, 
beginning  at  the  bottom,  we  have  Saturn  represented  by 
lead,  Venus  by  tin,  Jupiter  by  brass,  Mercury  by  iron, 
Mars  by  a  mixed  metal,  the  Moon  by  silver,  and  the  Sun 
by  gold,  the  whole  being  a  symbol  of  the  sidereal  progress 
of  the  solar  orb  through  the  universe. 

In  the  Mysteries  of  Brahma  we  find  the  same  reference 
to  the  ladder  of  seven  steps ;  but  here  the  names  were 
different,  although  there  was  the  same  allusion  to  the 
symbol  of  the  universe.  The  seven  steps  were  emblem 
atical  of  the  seven  worlds  which  constituted  the  Indian 
universe.  The  lowest  was  the  Earth  ;  the  second,  the 
World  of  Reexistence  ;  the  third,  Heaven  ;  the  fourth, 
the  Middle  World,  or  intermediate  region  between  the 
lower  and  upper  worlds  ;  the  fifth,  the  World  of  Births, 
in  which  souls  are  again  born  ;  the  sixth,  the  Mansion  of 
the  Blessed  ;  and  the  seventh,  or  topmost  round,  the 


THE  COVERING  OF  THE  LODGE.          119 

Sphere  of  Truth,  the  abode  of  Brahma,  he  himself  being 
but  a  symbol  of  the  sun,  and  hence  we  arrive  once 
more  at  the  masonic  symbolism  of  the  universe  and  the 
solar  orb. 

Dr.  Oliver  thinks  that  in  the  Scandinavian  Mysteries 
he  has  found  the  mystic  ladder  in  the  sacred  tree  Tdrasil ;  * 
but  here  the  reference  to  the  septenary  division  is  so  im 
perfect,  or  at  least  abstruse,  that  I  am  unwilling  to  press 
it  into  our  catalogue  of  coincidences,  although  there  is 
no  doubt  that  we  shall  find  in  this  sacred  tree  the  same 
allusion  as  in  the  ladder  of  Jacob,  to  an  ascent  from  earth, 
where  its  roots  were  planted,  to  heaven,  where  its 
branches  expanded,  which  ascent  being  but  a  change 
from  mortality  to  immortality,  from  time  to  eternity,  was 
the  doctrine  taught  in  all  the  initiations.  The  ascent  of 
the  ladder  or  of  the  tree  was  the  ascent  from  life  here  to 
life  hereafter  —  from  earth  to  heaven. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  carry  these  parallelisms  any  farther. 
Any  one  can,  however,  see  in  them  an  undoubted  refer 
ence  to  that  septenary  division  which  so  universally  pre 
vailed  throughout  the  ancient  world,  and  the  influence 
of  which  is  still  felt  even  in  the  common  day  life  and 
observances  of  our  time.  Seven  was,  among  the  Hebrews, 
their  perfect  number;  and  hence  we  see  it  continually 
recurring  in  all  their  sacred  rites.  The  creation  was  per- 

*  Asgard,  the  abode  of  the  gods,  is  shaded  by  the  ash  tree, 
Tdrasil,  where  the  gods  assemble  every  day  to  do  justice.  The 
branches  of  this  tree  extend  themselves  over  the  whole  world,  and 
reach  above  the  heavens.  It  hath  three  roots,  extremely  distant 
from  each  other:  one  of  them  is  among  the  gods;  the  second  is 
among  the  giants,  where  the  abyss  formerly  was;  the  third  covers 
Niflheim,  or  hell,  and  under  this  root  is  the  fountain  Vergelmer, 
whence  flow  the  infernal  rivers.  —  Edda,  Fab.  8. 


I2O          THE  COVERING  OF  THE  LODGE. 

fected  in  seven  days ;  seven  priests,  with  seven  trumpets, 
encompassed  the  walls  of  Jericho  for  seven  days ;  Noah 
received  seven  days'  notice  of  the  commencement  of  the 
deluge,  and  seven  persons  accompanied  him  into  the  ark, 
which  rested  on  Mount  Ararat  on  the  seventh  month  ; 
Solomon  was  seven  years  in  building  the  temple :  and 
there  are  hundreds  of  other  instances  of  the  prominence 
of  this  talismanic  number,  if  there  were  either  time  or 
necessity  to  cite  them. 

Among  the  Gentiles  the  same  number  was  equally 
sacred.  Pythagoras  called  it  a  "  venerable  number." 
The  septenary  division  of  time  into  weeks  of  seven  days, 
although  not  universal,  as  has  been  generally  supposed, 
was  sufficiently  so  to  indicate  the  influence  of  the  number. 
And  it  is  remarkable,  as  perhaps  in  some  way  referring 
to  the  seven-stepped  ladder  which  we  have  been  consid 
ering,  that  in  the  ancient  Mysteries,  as  Apuleius  informs 
us,  the  candidate  was  seven  times  washed  in  the  conse 
crated  waters  of  ablution. 

There  is,  then,  an  anomaly  in  giving  to  the  mystical 
ladder  of  Masonry  only  three  rounds.  It  is  an  anomaly, 
however,  with  which  Masonry  has  had  nothing  to  do. 
The  error  arose  from  the  ignorance  of  those  inventors 
who  first  engraved  the  masonic  symbols  for  our  monitors. 
The  ladder  of  Masonry,  like  the  equipollent  ladders  of  its 
kindred  institutions,  always  had  seven  steps,  although  in 
modern  times  the  three  principal  or  upper  ones  are  alone 
alluded  to.  These  rounds,  beginning  at  the  lowest,  are 
Temperance,  Fortitude,  Prudence,  Justice,  Faith, 
Hope,  and  Charity.  Charity,  therefore,  takes  the  same 
place  in  the  ladder  of  masonic  virtues  as  the  sun  does 
in  the  ladder  of  planets.  In  the  ladder  of  metals  we 


THE  COVERING  OF  THE  LODGE.          121 

find  gold,  and  in  that  of  colors  yellow,  occupying  the 
same  elevated  position.  Now,  St.  Paul  explains  Charity 
as  signifying,  not  alms-giving,  which  is  the  modern  pop 
ular  meaning,  but  love  —  that  love  which  "  sufTereth  long 
and  is  kind  ;  "  and  when,  in  our  lectures  on  this  subject, 
we  speak  of  it  as  the  greatest  of  virtues,  because,  when 
Faith  is  lost  and  Hope  has  ceased,  it  extends  "  beyond 
the  grave  to  realms  of  endless  bliss,"  we  there  refer 
it  to  the  Divine  Love  of  our  Creator.  But  Portal,  in 
his  Essay  on  Symbolic  Colors,  informs  us  that  the  sun 
represents  Divine  Love,  and  gold  indicates  the  goodness 
of  God. 

So  that  if  Charity  is  equivalent  to  Divine  Love,  and 
Divine  Love  is  represented  by  the  sun,  and  lastly,  if 
Charity  be  the  topmost  round  of  the  masonic  ladder, 
then  again  we  arrive,  as  the  result  of  our  researches,  at 
the  symbol  so  often  already  repeated  of  the  solar  orb. 
The  natural  sun  or  the  spiritual  sun  —  the  sun,  either 
as  the  vivifying  principle  of  animated  nature,  and  there 
fore  the  special  object  of  adoration,  or  as  the  most  promi 
nent  instrument  of  the  Creator's  benevolence  —  was  ever  a 
leading  idea  in  the  symbolism  of  antiquity. 

Its  prevalence,  therefore,  in  the  masonic  institution,  is 
a  pregnant  evidence  of  the  close  analogy  existing  between 
it  and  all  these  systems.  How  that  analogy  was  first 
introduced,  and  how  it  is  to  be  explained,  without  detri 
ment  to  the  purity  and  truthfulness  of  our  own  religious 
character,  would  involve  a  long  inquiry  into  the  origin 
of  Freemasonry,  and  the  history  of  its  connection  with 
the  ancient  systems. 

These  researches  might  have  been  extended  still  far- 


122          THE  COVERING  OF  THE  LODGE. 

ther;    enough,    however,  has  been  said   to  establish  the 
following  leading  principles:  — 

1.  That  Freemasonry  is,  strictly  speaking,  a   science 
of  symbolism. 

2.  That  in  this  symbolism  it  bears  a  striking  analogy 
to  the  same  science,  as  seen    in  the  mystic  rites  of  the 
ancient  religions. 

3.  That  as  in  these  ancient  religions  the  universe  was 
symbolized  to  the  candidate,  and  the  sun,  as  its  vivifying 
principle,   made  the  object  of  his  adoration,  or  at  least 
of  his  veneration,  so,  in  Masonry,  the  lodge  is  made  the 
representative  of  the  world  or  the  universe,  and  the  sun 
is  presented  as  its  most  prominent  symbol. 

4.  That  this  identity  of  symbolism  proves  an  identity 
of  origin,  which   identity  of  origin  can  be  shown  to  be 
strictly  compatible  with  the  true  religious  sentiment  of 
Masonry. 

5.  And  fifthly  and  lastly,  that  the  whole  symbolism  of 
Freemasonry   has   an   exclusive    reference    to    what   the 
Kabalists    have    called    the    ALGABIL  —  the   Master 
Builder — him  whom    Freemasons   have    designated  as 
the  Grand  Architect  of  the  Universe. 


m 


XVII. 

RITUALISTIC  SYMBOLISM. 

E  have  hitherto  been  engaged  in  the  con 
sideration  of  these  simple  symbols,  which 
appear  to  express  one  single  and  indepen 
dent  idea.  They  have  sometimes  been  called  the  "  alpha 
bet  of  Freemasonry,"  but  improperly,  I  think,  since  the 
letters  of  the  alphabet  have,  in  themselves,  unlike  these 
masonic  symbols,  no  significance,  but  are  simply  the 
component  parts  of  words,  themselves  the  representatives 
of  ideas. 

These  masonic  symbols  rather  may  be  compared  to 
the  elementary  characters  of  the  Chinese  language,  each 
of  which  denotes  an  idea ;  or,  still  better,  to  the  hiero 
glyphics  of  the  ancient  Egyptians,  in  which  one  object 
was  represented  in  full  by  another  which  bore  some 
subjective  relation  to  it,  as  the  wind  was  represented  by 
the  wings  of  a  bird,  or  courage  by  the  head  and  shoulders 
of  a  lion. 

It  is  in  the  same  way  that  in  Masonry  the  plumb 
represents  rectitude,  the  level,  human  equality,  and  the 

123 


124  RITUALISTIC    SYMBOLISM. 

trowel,  concord  or  harmony.  Each  is,  in  itself,  inde 
pendent,  each  expresses  a  single  elementary  idea. 

But  we  now  arrive  at  a  higher  division  of  masonic 
symbolism,  which,  passing  beyond  these  tangible  sym 
bols,  brings  us  to  those  which  are  of  a  more  abstruse 
nature,  and  which,  as  being  developed  in  a  ceremonial 
form,  controlled  and  directed  by  the  ritual  of  the  order, 
may  be  designated  as  the  ritualistic  symbolism  of 
Freemasonry. 

It  is  to  this  higher  division  that  I  now  invite  atten 
tion  ;  and  for  the  purpose  of  exemplifying  the  definition 
that  I  have  given,  I  shall  select  a  few  of  the  most  prom 
inent  and  interesting  ceremonies  of  the  ritual. 

Our  first  researches  were  into  the  symbolism  of  objects  ; 
our  next  will  be  into  the  symbolism  of  ceremonies. 

In  the  explanations  which  I  shall  venture  to  give  of 
this  ritualistic  symbolism,  or  the  symbolism  of  ceremonies, 
a  reference  will  constantly  be  made  to  what  has  so  often 
already  been  alluded  to,  namely,  to  the  analogy  existing 
between  the  system  of  Freemasonry  and  the  ancient  rites 
and  Mysteries,  and  hence  we  will  again  develop  the 
identity  of  their  origin. 

Each  of  the  degrees  of  Ancient  Craft  Masonry  contains 
some  of  these  ritualistic  symbols  :  the  lessons  of  the  whole 
order  are,  indeed,  veiled  in  their  allegoric  clothing ;  but 
it  is  only  to  the  most  important  that  I  can  find  oppor 
tunity  to  refer.  Such,  among  others,  are  the  rites  of 
discalceation,  of  investiture,  of  circumambulation,  and  of 
intrusting.  Each  of  these  will  furnish  an  appropriate 
subject  for  consideration. 


XVIII. 

THE  RITE  OF  DISCALCEATION. 

/  "Plfc'HE  rite  of  discalceation^  or  uncovering  the  feet 
m\  on  approaching  holy  ground,  is  derived  from  the 
^^^J  Latin  word  discalceare,  to  pluck  off  one's  shoes. 
The  usage  has  the  prestige  of  antiquity  and  universality 
in  its  favor. 

That  it  not  only  very  generally  prevailed,  but  that  its 
symbolic  signification  was  well  understood  in  the  days  of 
Moses,  we  learn  from  that  passage  of  Exodus  where  the 
angel  of  the  Lord,  at  the  burning  bush,  exclaims  to  the 
patriarch,  "  Draw  not  nigh  hither ;  put  off  thy  shoes 
from  off  thy  feet,  for  the  place  whereon  thou  standest  is 
holy  ground."  *  Clarke  f  thinks  it  is  from  this  command 
that  the  Eastern  nations  have  derived  the  custom  of  per 
forming  all  their  acts  of  religious  worship  with  bare  feet. 
But  it  is  much  more  probable  that  the  ceremony  was  in 
use  long  anterior  to  the  circumstance  of  the  burning  bush, 
and  that  the  Jewish  lawgiver  at  once  recognized  it  as  a 
well-known  sign  of  reverence. 

*  Exod.  iii.  5.  t  Commentaries  in  loco. 

125 


126  THE    RITE    OF   DISCALCEATION. 

Bishop  Patrick  *  entertains  this  opinion,  and  thinks 
that  the  custom  was  derived  from  the  ancient  patriarchs, 
and  was  transmitted  by  a  general  tradition  to  succeeding 
times. 

Abundant  evidence  might  be  furnished  from  ancient 
authors  of  the  existence  of  the  custom  among  all  nations, 
both  Jewish  and  Gentile.  A  few  of  them,  principally 
collected  by  Dr.  Mede,  must  be  curious  and  interesting. 

The  direction  of  Pythagoras  to  his  disciples  was  in 
these  words:  "Jwnddyws  6ve  xal  ngdaxwet;"  that  is,  Of 
fer  sacrifice  and  worship  with  thy  shoes  off.  f 

Justin  Martyr  says  that  those  who  came  to  worship  in 
the  sanctuaries  and  temples  of  the  Gentiles  were  com 
manded  by  their  priests  to  put  off  their  shoes. 

Drusius,  in  his  Notes  on  the  Book  of  Joshua,  says  that 
among  most  of  the  Eastern  nations  it  was  a  pious  duty  to 
tread  the  pavement  of  the  temple  with  unshod  feet.  J 

Maimonides,  the  great  expounder  of  the  Jewish  law, 
asserts  that  "  it  was  not  lawful  for  a  man  to  come  into 
the  mountain  of  God's  house  with  his  shoes  on  his  feet, 
or  with  his  staff,  or  in  his  working  garments,  or  with  dust 
on  his  feet."  § 

Rabbi  Solomon,  commenting  on  the  command  in 
Leviticus  xix.  30,  "  Ye  shall  reverence  my  sanctuary," 
makes  the  same  remark  in  relation  to  this  custom.  On 
this  subject  Dr.  Oliver  observes,  "  Now,  the  act  of  going 

*  Commentary  on  Exod.  iii.  5. 

f  lamblichi  Vita  Pythag.  c.  105.  In  another  place  he  sajs, 
"  0v8iv  %Q)\  &t>vn68£TOv,xal  Ttgbg  xa  IEQ&.  nQoauivai,"  —  We  must 
sacrifice  and  enter  temples  with  the  shoes  off.  Ibid.  c.  85. 

%  "  Quod  etiam  nunc  apud  plerasque  Orientis  nationes  piaculum 
sit,  calceato  pede  templorum  pavimenta  calcasse." 

§  Beth  Habbechirah,  cap.  vii. 


THE    RITE    OF   DISCALCEATION.  127 

with  naked  feet  was  always  considered  a  token  of  humili 
ty  and  reverence  ;  and  the  priests,  in  the  temple  worship, 
always  officiated  with  feet  uncovered,  although  it  was 
frequently  injurious  to  their  health."  * 

Mede  quotes  Zago  Zaba,  an  Ethiopian  bishop,  who 
was  ambassador  from  David,  King  of  Abyssinia,  to  John 
III.,  of  Portugal,  as  saying,  "We  are  not  permitted  to 
enter  the  church,  except  barefooted."! 

The  Mohammedans,  when  about  to  perform  their 
devotions,  always  leave  their  slippers  at  the  door  of 
the  mosque.  The  Druids  practised  the  same  custom 
whenever  they  celebrated  their  sacred  rites ;  and  the 
ancient  Peruvians  are  said  always  to  have  left  their  shoes 
at  the  porch  when  they  entered  the  magnificent  temple 
consecrated  to  the  worship  of  the  sun. 

Adam  Clarke  thinks  that  the  custom  of  worshipping 
the  Deity  barefooted  was  so  general  among  all  nations  of 
antiquity,  that  he  assigns  it  as  one  of  his  thirteen  proofs 
that  the  whole  human  race  have  been  derived  from  one 
family. J 

A  theory  might  be  advanced  as  follows  :  The  shoes,  or 
sandals,  were  worn  on  ordinary  occasions  as  a  protection 
from  the  defilement  of  the  ground.  To  continue  to  wear 
them,  then,  in  a  consecrated  place,  would  be  a  tacit  in 
sinuation  that  the  ground  there  was  equally  polluted  and 
capable  of  producing  defilement.  But,  as  the  very  char 
acter  of  a  holy  and  consecrated  spot  precludes  the  idea 
of  any  sort  of  defilement  or  impurity,  the  acknowledg- 

,'"•;...',;  •• .  :;yf  '-r.vj  iln"-  • 

*  Histor.  Landm.  vol.  ii.  p.  481. 

t  "  Non  datur  nobis  potestas  adeundi  templum  nisi  nudibus 
pedibus." 

J  Commentaries,  ut  suj>ra. 


128  THE    RITE    OF   DISCALCEATION. 

ment  that  such  was  the  case  was  conveyed,  symbolically, 
by  divesting  the  feet  of  all  that  protection  from  pollution 
and  uncleanness  which  would  be  necessary  in  unconse- 
crated  places. 

So,  in  modern  times,  we  uncover  the  head  to  express 
the  sentiment  of  esteem  and  respect.  Now,  in  former 
days,  when  there  was  more  violence  to  be  apprehended 
than  now,  the  casque,  or  helmet,  afforded  an  ample  pro 
tection  from  any  sudden  blow  of  an  unexpected  adversary. 
But  we  can  fear  no  violence  from  one  whom  we  esteem 
and  respect ;  and,  therefore,  to  deprive  the  head  of  its 
accustomed  protection,  is  to  give  an  evidence  of  our  un 
limited  confidence  in  the  person  to  whom  the  gesture  is 
made. 

The  rite  of  discalceation  is,  therefore,  a  symbol  of 
reverence.  It  signifies,  in  the  language  of  symbolism, 
that  the  spot  which  is  about  to  be  approached  in  this 
humble  and  reverential  manner  is  consecrated  to  some 
holy  purpose. 

Now,  as  to  all  that  has  been  said,  the  intelligent  mason 
will  at  once  see  its  application  to  the  third  degree.  Of 
all  the  degrees  of  Masonry,  this  is  by  far  the  most  impor 
tant  and  sublime.  The  solemn  lessons  which  it  teaches, 
the  sacred  scene  which  it  represents,  and  the  impressive 
ceremonies  with  which  it  is  conducted,  are  all  calculated 
to  inspire  the  mind  with  feelings  of  awe  and  reverence. 
Into  the  holy  of  holies  of  the  temple,  when  the  ark  of  the 
covenant  had  been  deposited  in  its  appropriate  place,  and 
the  Shekinah  was  hovering  over  it,  the  high  priest  alone, 
and  on  one  day  only  in  the  whole  year,  was  permitted, 
after  the  most  careful  purification,  to  enter  with  bare  feet, 
and  to  pronounce,  with  fearful  veneration,  the  tetragram- 
maton  or  omnific  word. 


THE    RITE    OF    DISCALCEATION.  129 

And  into  the  Master  Mason's  lodge  —  this  holy  of  holies 
of  the  masonic  temple,  where  the  solemn  truths  of  death 
and  immortality  are  inculcated  —  the  aspirant,  on  enter 
ing,  should  purify  his  heart  from  every  contamination, 
and  remember,  with  a  due  sense  of  their  symbolic  appli 
cation,  those  words  that  once  broke  upon  the  astonished 
ears  of  the  old  patriarch,  "  Put  off  thy  shoes  from  off  thy 
feet,  for  the  place  whereon  thou  standest  is  holy  ground." 
9 


XIX. 


THE   KITE    OF  INVESTITURE. 

NOTHER   ritualistic    symbolism,   of    still    more 
importance    and   interest,  is   the   rite    of  inves- 

titure' 

The  rite  of  investiture,  called,  in  the  collo 
quially  technical  language  of  the  order,  the  ceremony  of 
clothing,  brings  us  at  once  to  the  consideration  of  that 
well-known  symbol  of  Freemasonry,  the  LAMB-SKIN 
APRON. 

This  rite  of  investiture,  or  the  placing  upon  the  aspi 
rant  some  garment,  as  an  indication  of  his  appropriate 
preparation  for  the  ceremonies  in  which  he  was  about  to 
engage,  prevailed  in  all  the  ancient  initiations.  A  few 
of  them  only  it  will  be  requisite  to  consider. 

Thus  in  the  Levitical  economy  of  the  Israelites  the 
priests  always  wore  the  abnet,  or  linen  apron,  or  girdle, 
as  a  part  of  the  investiture  of  the  priesthood.  This,  with 
the  other  garments,  was  to  be  worn,  as  the  text  expresses 
it,  "  for  glory  and  for  beauty,"  or,  as  it  has  been  explained 
by  a  learned  commentator,  "  as  emblematical  of  that  holi- 


THE    RITE    OF    INVESTITyRE.  131 

ness  and  purity  which  ever  characterize  the  divine  na 
ture,  and  the  worship  which  is  worthy  of  him." 

In  the  Persian  Mysteries  of  Mithras,  the  candidate, 
having  first  received  light,  was  invested  with  a  girdle,  a 
crown  or  mitre,  a  purple  tunic,  and,  lastly,  a  white 
apron. 

In  the  initiations  practised  in  Hindostan,  in  the  cere 
mony  of  investiture  was  substituted  the  sash,  or  sacred 
zennaar,  consisting  of  a  cord,  composed  of  nine  threads 
twisted  into  a  knot  at  the  end,  and  hanging  from  the  left 
shoulder  to  the  right  hip.  This  was,  perhaps,  the  type 
of  the  masonic  scarf,  which  is,  or  ought  to  be,  always 
worn  in  the  same  position. 

The  Jewish  sect  of  the  Essenes,  who  approached  nearer 
than  any  other  secret  institution  of  antiquity  to  Freema 
sonry  in  their  organization,  always  invested  their  novices 
with  a  white  robe. 

And,  lastly,  in  the  Scandinavian  rites,  where  the  mili 
tary  genius  of  the  people  had  introduced  a  warlike  species 
of  initiation,  instead  of  the  apron  we  find  the  candidate 
receiving  a  white  shield,  which  was,  however,  always 
presented  with  the  accompaniment  of  some  symbolic  in 
struction,  not  very  dissimilar  to  that  which  is  connected 
with  the  masonic  apron. 

In  all  these  modes  of  investiture,  no  matter  what  was 
the  material  or  the  form,  the  symbolic  signification  in 
tended  to  be  conveyed  was  that  of  purity. 

And  hence,  in  Freemasonry,  the  same  symbolism  is 
communicated  by  the  apron,  which,  because  it  is  the  first 
gift  which  the  aspirant  receives,  —  the  first  symbol  in 
which  he  is  instructed,  —  has  been  called  the  "  badge  of  a 
mason."  And  most  appropriately  has  it  been  so  called  ; 


132  THE    RITE    OF    INVESTITURE. 

for,  whatever  may  be  the  future  advancement  of  the 
candidate  in  the  "  Royal  Art,"  into  whatever  deeper 
arcana  his  devotion  to  the  mystic  institution  or  his  thirst 
for  knowledge  may  carry  him,  with  the  apron  —  his 
first  investiture  —  he  never  parts.  Changing,  perhaps,  its 
form  and  its  decorations,  and  conveying  at  each  step  some 
new  and  beautiful  allusion,  its  substance  is  still  there,  and 
it  continues  to  claim  the  honorable  title  by  which  it  was 
first  made  known  to  him  on  the  night  of  his  initiation. 

The  apron  derives  its  significance,  as  the  symbol  of 
purity,  from  two  sources  —  from  its  color  and  from  its 
material.  In  each  of  these  points  of  view  it  is,  then,  to 
be  considered,  before  its  symbolism  can  be  properly 
appreciated. 

And,  first,  the  color  of  the  apron  must  be  an  unspotted 
white.  This  color  has,  in  all  ages,  been  esteemed  an 
emblem  of  innocence  and  purity.  It  was  with  reference 
to  this  symbolism  that  a  portion  of  the  vestments  of  the 
Jewish  priesthood  was  directed  to  be  made  white.  And 
hence  Aaron  was  commanded,  when  he  entered  into  the 
holy  of  holies  to  make  an  expiation  for  the  sins  of  the 
people,  to  appear  clothed  in  white  linen,  with  his  linen 
apron,  or  girdle,  about  his  loins.  It  is  worthy  of  remark 
that  the  Hebrew  word  LABAN,  which  signifies  to  make 
"white,  denotes  also  to  purify ;  and  hence  we  find,  through 
out  the  Scriptures,  many  allusions  to  that  color  as  an 
emblem  of  purity.  "  Though  thy  sins  be  as  scarlet," 
says  Isaiah,  "they  shall  be  white  as  snow;"  and  Jere 
miah,  in  describing  the  once  innocent  condition  of  Zion, 
says,  "  Her  Nazarites  were  purer  than  snow  ;  they  were 
whiter  than  milk." 

In  the  Apocalypse  a  white  stone  was  the  reward  prom- 


THE    RITE    OF    INVESTITURE.  133 

ised  by  the  Spirit  to  those  who  overcame  ;  and  in  the 
same  mystical  book  the  apostle  is  instructed  to  say,  that 
fine  linen,  clean  and  white,  is  the  righteousness  of  the 
saints. 

In  the  early  ages  of  the  Christian  church  a  white  gar 
ment  was  always  placed  upon  the  catechumen  who  had 
been  recently  baptized,  to  denote  that  he  had  been  cleansed 
from  his  former  sins,  and  was  thenceforth  to  lead  a  life  of 
innocence  and  purity.  Hence  it  was  presented  to  him 
with  this  appropriate  charge  :  "  Receive  the  white  and 
imdefiled  garment,  and  produce  it  unspotted  before  the 
tribunal  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  that  you  may  obtain 
immortal  life." 

The  white  alb  still  constitutes  a  part  of  the  vestments 
of  the  Roman  church,  and  its  color  is  said  by  Bishop 
England  "  to  excite  to  piety  by  teaching  us  the  purity 
of  heart  and  body  which  we  should  possess  in  being 
present  at  the  holy  mysteries." 

The  heathens  paid  the  same  attention  to  the  symbolic 
signification  of  this  color.  The  Egyptians,  for  instance, 
decorated  the  head  of  their  principal  deity,  Osiris,  with  a 
white  tiara,  and  the  priests  wore  robes  of  the  whitest 
linen. 

In  the  school  of  Pythagoras,  the  sacred  hymns  were 
chanted  by  the  disciples  clothed  in  garments  of  white. 
The  Druids  gave  white  vestments  to  those  of  their  in 
itiates  who  had  arrived  at  the  ultimate  degree,  or  that  of 
perfection.  And  this  was  intended,  according  to  their 
ritual,  to  teach  the  aspirant  that  none  were  admitted  to 
that  honor  but  such  as  were  cleansed  from  all  impurities, 
both  of  body  and  mind. 

In  all  the  Mysteries  and  religious  rites  of  the  other 


134  THE    RITE    OF    INVESTITURE. 

nations  of  antiquity  the  same  use  of  white  garments  was 
observed. 

Portal,  in  his  "  Treatise  on  Symbolic  Colors,"  says 
that  "  white,  the  symbol  of  the  divinity  and  of  the  priest 
hood,  represents  divine  wisdom  ;  applied  to  a  young  girl, 
it  denotes  virginity  ;  to  an  accused  person,  innocence  ;  to 
a  judge,  justice  ;  "  and  he  adds —  what  in  reference  to  its 
use  in  Masonry  will  be  peculiarly  appropriate  —  that,"  as 
a  characteristic  sign  of  purity,  it  exhibits  a  promise  of 
hope  after  death."  We  see,  therefore,  the  propriety  of 
adopting  this  color  in  the  masonic  system  as  a  symbol 
of  purity.  This  symbolism  pervades  the  whole  of  the 
ritual,  from  the  lowest  to  the  highest  degree,  wherever 
white  vestments  or  white  decorations  are  used. 

As  to  the  material  of  the  apron,  this  is  imperatively 
required  to  be  of  lamb-skin.  No  other  substance,  such  as 
linen,  silk,  or  satin,  could  be  substituted  without  entirely 
destroying  the  symbolism  of  the  vestment.  Now,  the 
lamb  has,  as  the  ritual  expresses  it,  "been,  in  all  ages, 
deemed  an  emblem  of  innocence  ;  "  but  more  particularly 
in  the  Jewish  and  Christian  churches  has  this  symbolism 
been  observed.  Instances  of  this  need  hardly  be  cited. 
They  abound  throughout  the  Old  Testament,  where  we 
learn  that  a  lamb  was  selected  by  the  Israelites  for  their 
sin  and  burnt  offerings,  and  in  the  New,  where  the  word 
lamb  is  almost  constantly  employed  as  synonymous  with 
innocence.  "  The  paschal  lamb,"  says  Didron,  "  which 
was  eaten  by  the  Israelites  on  the  night  preceding  their 
departure,  is  the  type  of  that  other  divine  Lamb,  of  whom 
Christians  are  to  partake  at  Easter,  in  order  thereby  to 
free  themselves  from  the  bondage  in  which  they  are  held 
by  vice."  The  paschal  lamb,  a  lamb  bearing  a  cross, 


THE    RITE    OF    INVESTITURE.  135 

was,  therefore,  from  an  early  period,  depicted  by  the 
Christians  as  referring  to  Christ  crucified,  "  that  spotless 
Lamb  of  God,  who  was  slain  from  the  foundation  of  the 
world." 

The  material,  then,  of  the  apron,  unites  with  its  color 
to  give  to  the  investiture  of  a  mason  the  symbolic  signifi 
cation  of  purity.  This,  then,  together  with  the  fact  which 
I  have  already  shown,  that  the  ceremony  of  investiture 
was  common  to  all  the  ancient  religious  rites,  will  form 
another  proof  of  the  identity  of  origin  between  these  and 
the  masonic  institution. 

This  symbolism  also  indicates  the  sacred  and  religious 
character  which  its  founders  sought  to  impose  upon 
Freemasonry,  and  to  which  both  the  moral  and  physical 
qualifications  of  our  candidates  undoubtedly  have  a  refer 
ence,  since  it  is  with  the  masonic  lodge  as  it  was  with 
the  Jewish  church,  where  it  was  declared  that  "  no  man 
that  had  a  blemish  should  come  nigh  unto  the  altar;" 
and  with  the  heathen  priesthood,  among  whom  we  are 
told  that  it  was  thought  to  be  a  dishonor  to  the  gods  to 
be  served  by  any  one  that  was  maimed,  lame,  or  in  any 
other  way  imperfect ;  and  with  both,  also,  in  requiring 
that  no  one  should  approach  the  sacred  things  who  was 
not  pure  and  uncorrupt. 

The  pure,  unspotted  lamb-skin  apron  is,  then,  in  Ma 
sonry,  symbolic  of  that  perfection  of  body  and  purity 
of  mind  which  are  essential  qualifications  in  all  who 
would  participate  in  its  sacred  mysteries. 


XX. 

THE   SYMBOLISM  OF  THE   GLOVES. 


investiture  with  the  gloves  is  very  closely 
connected  with  the  investiture  with  the  apron, 
and  the  consideration  of  the  symbolism  of  the 
one  naturally  follows  the  consideration  of  the  symbolism 
of  the  other. 

In  the  continental  rites  of  Masonry,  as  practised  in 
France,  in  Germany,  and  in  other  countries  of  Europe, 
it  is  an  invariable  custom  to  present  the  newly-initiated 
candidate  not  only,  as  we  do,  with  a  white  leather  apron, 
but  also  with  two  pairs  of  white  kid  gloves,  one  a  man's 
pair  for  himself,  and  the  other  a  woman's,  to  be  presented 
by  him  in  turn  to  his  wife  or  his  betrothed,  according  to 
the  custom  of  the  German  masons,  or,  according  to  the 
French,  to  the  female  whom  he  most  esteems,  which, 
indeed,  amounts,  or  should  amount,  to  the  same  thing. 

There  is  in  this,  of  course,  as  there  is  in  everything 
else  which  pertains  to  Freemasonry,  a  symbolism.  The 
gloves  given  to  the  candidate  for  himself  are  intended  to 
teach  him  that  the  acts  of  a  mason  should  be  as  pure  and 

136 


THE    SYMBOLISM    OF    THE    GLOVES.  137 

spotless  as  the  gloves  now  given  to  him.  In  the  German 
lodges,  the  word  used  for  acts  is  of  course  handlungen, 
or  handlings,  "  the  works  of  his  hands,"  which  makes 
the  symbolic  idea  more  impressive. 

Dr.  Robert  Plott  —  no  friend  of  Masonry,  but  still  an 
historian  of  much  research  —  says,  in  his  "'Natural  His 
tory  of  Staffordshire,"  that  the  Society  of  Freemasons,  in 
his  time  (and  he  wrote  in  1660).  presented  their  candidates 
with  gloves  for  themselves  and  their  wives.  This  shows 
that  the  custom  still  preserved  on  the  continent  of 
Europe  was  formerly  practised  in  England,  although  there 
as  well  as  in  America,  it  is  discontinued,  which  is,  per 
haps,  to  be  regretted. 

But  although  the  presentation  of  the  gloves  to  the  can 
didate  is  no  longer  practised  as  a  ceremony  in  England 
or  America,  yet  the  use  of  them  as  a  part  of  the  proper 
professional  clothing  of  a  mason  in  the  duties  of  the  lodge, 
or  in  processions,  is  still  retained,  and  in  many  well-reg-/ 
ulated  lodges  the  members  are  almost  as  regularly  clothed 
in  their  white  gloves  as  in  their  white  aprons. 

The  symbolism  of  the  gloves,  it  will  be  admitted,  is,  in 
fact,  but  a  modification  of  that  of  the  apron.  They  both 
signify  the  same  thing ;  both  are  allusive  to  a  purification 
of  life.  "  Who  shall  ascend,"  says  the  Psalmist,  "  into 
the  hill  of  the  Lord?  or  who  shall  stand  in  his  holy 
place?  He  that  hath  clean  hands  and  a  pure  heart." 
The  apron  may  be  said  to  refer  to  the  "  pure  heart,"  the 
gloves  to  the  "  clean  hands."  Both  are  significant  of 
purification  —  of  that  purification  which  was  always  sym 
bolized  by  the  ablution  which  preceded  the  ancient  initia 
tions  into  the  sacred  Mysteries.  But  while  our  American 
and  English  masons  have  adhered  only  to  the  apron,  and 


138  THE    SYMBOLISM    OF   THE    GLOVES. 

rejected  the  gloves  as  a  Masonic  symbol,  the  latter  appear 
to  be  far  more  important  in  symbolic  science,  because 
the  allusions  to  pure  or  clean  hands  are  abundant  in  all 
the  ancient  writers. 

"  Hands,"  says  Wemyss,  in  his  "  Clavis  Symbolica,"  are 
the  symbols  of  human  actions  ;  pure  hands  are  pure 
actions  ;  unjust  hands  are  deeds  of  injustice."  There  are 
numerous  references  in  sacred  and  profane  writers  to  this 
symbolism.  The  washing  of  the  hands  has  the  outward 
sign  of  an  internal  purification.  Hence  the  Psalmist  says, 
"  I  will  wash  my  hands  in  innocence,  and  I  will  encom 
pass  thine  altar,  Jehovah." 

In  the  ancient  Mysteries  the  washing  of  the  hands  was 
always  an  introductory  ceremony  to  the  initiation,  and, 
of  course,  it  was  used  symbolically  to  indicate  the  neces 
sity  of  purity  from  crime  as  a  qualification  of  those  who 
sought  admission  into  the  sacred  rites  ;  and  hence  on  a 
temple  in  the  Island  of  Crete  this  inscription  was  placed  : 
"  Cleanse  your  feet,  wash  your  hands,  and  then  enter." 

Indeed,  the  washing  of  hands,  as  symbolic  of  purity, 
was  among  the  ancients  a  peculiarly  religious  rite.  No 
one  dared  to  pray  to  the  gods  until  he  had  cleansed  his 
hands.  Thus  Homer  makes  Hector  say,  — 

d'arlmouiLV  Jtl  lelfieiv  aWona.  olvov 
—  Iliad,  vi.  266. 


"  I  dread  with  unwashed  hands  to  bring 
My  incensed  wine  to  Jove  an  offering." 

In  a  similar  spirit  of  religion,  ^Eneas,  when  leaving 
burning  Troy,  refuses  to  enter  the  temple  of  Ceres  until 
his  hands,  polluted  by  recent  strife,  had  been  washed  in 
the  living  stream. 


THE    SYMBOLISM    OF    THE    GLOVES.  139 

Me  bello  e  tanto  digressum  et  csede  recenti, 
Attrectare  nefas,  donee  me  flumine  vivo 
Abluero."  —  ^En.  ii.  718. 


"  In  me,  now  fresh  from  war  and  recent  strife, 
'Tis  impious  the  sacred  things  to  touch 
Till  in  the  living  stream  myself  I  bathe." 

The  same  practice  prevailed  among  the  Jews,  and  a 
striking  instance  of  the  symbolism  is  exhibited  in  that 
well-known  action  of  Pilate,  who,  when  the  Jews  clamored 
for  Jesus,  that  they  might  crucify  him,  appeared  before 
the  people,  and,  having  taken  water,  washed  his  hands, 
saying  at  the  same  time,  UI  am  innocent  of  the  blood  of 
this  just  man.  See  ye  to  it."  In  the  Christian  church 
of  the  middle  ages,  gloves  were  always  worn  by  bishops 
or  priests  when  in  the  performance  of  ecclesiastical  func 
tions.  They  were  made  of  linen,  and  were  white  ;  and 
Durandus,  a  celebrated  ritualist,  says  that  "  by  the  white 
gloves  were  denoted  chastity  and  purity,  because  the  hands 
were  thus  kept  clean  and  free  from  all  impurity." 

There  is  no  necessity  to  extend  examples  any  further. 
There  is  no  doubt  that  the  use  of  the  gloves  in  Masonry 
is  a  symbolic  idea  borrowed  from  the  ancient  and  univer 
sal  language  of  symbolism,  and  was  intended,  like  the 
apron,  to  denote  the  necessity  of  purity  of  life. 

We  have  thus  traced  the  gloves  and  the  apron  to  the 
same  symbolic  source.  Let  us  see  if  we  cannot  also 
derive  them  from  the  same  historic  origin. 

The  apron  evidently  owes  its  adoption  in  Freemasonry 
to  the  use  of  that  necessary  garment  by  the  operative 
masons  of  the  middle  ages.  It  is  one  of  the  most  posi 
tive  evidences  —  indeed  we  may  say,  absolutely,  the  most 
tangible  evidence  —  of  the  derivation  of  our  speculative 


140  THE    SYMBOLISM    OF    THE    GLOVES. 

science  from  an  operative  art.  The  builders,  who  asso 
ciated  in  companies,  who  traversed  Europe,  and  were 
engaged  in  the  construction  of  palaces  and  cathedrals, 
have  left  to  us,  as  their  descendants,  their  name,  their 
technical  language,  and  that  distinctive  piece  of  clothing 
by  which  they  protected  their  garments  from  the  pollu 
tions  of  their  laborious  employment.  Did  they  also 
bequeath  to  us  their  gloves?  This  is  a  question  which 
some  modern  discoveries  will  at  last  enable  us  to  solve. 

M.  Didron,  in  his  "  Annales  Archeologiques,"  pre 
sents  us  with  an  engraving,  copied  from  the  painted 
glass  of  a  window  in  the  cathedral  of  Chartres,  in  France. 
The  painting  was  executed  in  the  thirteenth  century,  and 
represents  a  number  of  operative  masons  at  work.  Three 
of  them  are  adorned  with  laurel  crowns.  May  not  these 
be  intended  to  represent  the  three  officers  of  a  lodge? 
All  of  the  Masons  wear  gloves.  M.  Didron  remarks  that 
in  the  old  documents  which  he  has  examined,  mention 
is  often  made  of  gloves  which  are  intended  to  be  pre 
sented  to  masons  and  stone-cutters.  In  a  subsequent 
number  of  the  "  Annales,"  he  gives  the  following  three 
examples  of  this  fact :  — 

In  the  year  1331,  the  Chatelan  of  Villaines,  in  Due- 
mois,  bought  a  considerable  quantity  of  gloves,  to  be 
given  to  the  workmen,  in  order,  as  it  is  said,  "to  shield 
their  hands  from  the  stone  and  lime." 

In  October,  1383,  as  he  learns  from  a  document  of  that 
period,  three  dozen  pairs  of  gloves  were  bought  and  dis 
tributed  to  the  masons  when  they  commenced  the  build 
ings  at  the  Chartreuse  of  Dijon. 

And,  lastly,  in  1486  or  1487,  twenty-two  pair  of  gloves 
were  given  to  the  masons  and  stone-cutters  who  were 
engaged  in  work  at  the  city  of  Amiens. 


THE    SYMBOLISM    OF    THE    GLOVES.  14! 

It  is  thus  evident  that  the  builders — the  operative 
masons  —  of  the  middle  ages  wore  gloves  to  protect  their 
hands  from  the  effects  of  their  work.  It  is  equally  evi 
dent  that  the  speculative  masons  have  received  from  their 
operative  predecessors  the  gloves  as  well  as  the  apron, 
both  of  which,  being  used  by  the  latter  for  practical  uses, 
have  been,  in  the  spirit  of  symbolism,  appropriated  by 
the  former  to  "  a  more  noble  and  glorious  purpose." 


XXL 


THE   RITE   OF  CIRCUMAMBULATION. 

'HE  rite  of  circumambulation  will  supply  us  with 
another  ritualistic  symbol,  in  which  we  may 
again  trace  the  identity  of  the  origin  of  Free 
masonry  with  that  of  the  religious  and  mystical  cere 
monies  of  the  ancients. 

"  Circumambulation"  is  the  name  given  by  sacred  archae 
ologists  to  that  religious  rite  in  the  ancient  initiations 
which  consisted  in  a  formal  procession  around  the  altar, 
or  other  holy  and  consecrated  object. 

The  prevalence  of  this  rite  among  the  ancients  appears 
to  have  been  universal,  and  it  originally  (as  I  shall  have 
occasion  to  show)  alluded  to  the  apparent  course  of  the 
sun  in  the  firmament,  which  is  from  east  to  west  by  the 
way  of  the  south. 

In  ancient  Greece,  when  the  priests  were  engaged  in 
the  rites  of  sacrifice,  they  and  the  people  always  walked 
three  times  around  the  altar  while  chanting  a  sacred 
hymn  or  ode.  Sometimes,  while  the  people  stood  around 
the  altar,  the  rite  of  circumambulation  was  performed  by 
the  priest  alone,  who,  turning  towards  the  right  hand, 

142 


THE    RITE    OF    CIRCUMAMBULATION.  143 

went  around  it,  and  sprinkled  it  with  meal  and  holy  water. 
In  making  this  circumambulation,  it  was  considered  abso 
lutely  necessary  that  the  right  side  should  always  be  next 
to  the  altar,  and  consequently,  that  the  procession  should 
move  from  the  east  to  the  south,  then  to  the  west,  next  to 
the  north,  and  afterwards  to  the  east  again.  It  was  in 
this  way  that  the  apparent  revolution  was  represented. 

This  ceremony  the  Greeks  called  moving  ex  de^ia  F.V  de%ia, 
from  the  right  to  the  right,  which  was  the  direction  of 
the  motion,  and  the  Romans  applied  to  it  the  term  dex- 
trovorsum,  or  dextrorsum,  which  signifies  the  same  thing. 
Thus  Plautus  makes  Palinurus,  a  character  in  his  comedy 
of  "  Curculio,"  say,  "  If  you  would  do  reverence  to  the 
gods,  you  must  turn  to  the  right  hand."  Gronovius,  in 
commenting  on  this  passage  of  Plautus,  says,  "  In  wor 
shipping  and  praying  to  the  gods  they  were  accustomed 
to  turn  to  the  right  hand" 

A  hymn  of  Callimachus  has  been  preserved,  which  is 
said  to  have  been  chanted  by  the  priests  of  Apollo  at 
Delos,  while  performing  this  ceremony  of  circumambula 
tion,  the  substance  of  which  is,  "  We  imitate  the  example 
of  the  sun,  and  follow  his  benevolent  course." 

It  will  be  observed  that  this  circumambulation  around 
the  altar  was  accompanied  by  the  singing  or  chanting  of 
a  sacred  ode.  Of  the  three  parts  of  the  ode,  the  strophe* 
the  antistrophe,  and  the  epode,  each  was  to  be  sung  at  a 
particular  part  of  the  procession.  The  analogy  between 
this  chanting  of  an  ode  by  the  ancients  and  the  recitation 
of  a  passage  of  Scripture  in  the  masonic  circumambula 
tion,  will  be  at  once  apparent. 

Among  the  Romans,  the  ceremony  of  circumambula 
tion  was  always  used  in  the  rites  of  sacrifice,  of  expiation 


144  THE    RITE    OF    CIRCUMAMBULAT1ON. 

or  purification.  Thus  Virgil  describes  Corynseus  as  pu 
rifying  his  companions,  at  the  funeral  of  Misenus,  by  pass 
ing  three  times  around  them  while  aspersing  them  with 
the  lustral  waters  ;  and  to  do  so  conveniently,  it  was  neces 
sary  that  he  should  have  moved  with  his  right  hand 
towards  them. 

"  Idem  ter  socios  pura  circumtulit  unda, 
Spargens  rore  levi  et  ramo  felicis  olivse." 

j&n.  vi.  229. 

"  Thrice  with  pure  water  compassed  he  the  crew, 
Sprinkling,  with  olive  branch,  the  gentle  dew." 

In  fact,  so  common  was  it  to  unite  the  ceremony  of 
circumambulation  with  that  of  expiation  or  purification, 
or,  in  other  words,  to  make  a  circuitous  procession  in  per 
forming  the  latter  rite,  that  the  term  lustrare,  whose 
primitive  meaning  is  "  to  purify,"  came  at  last  to  be 
synonymous  with  circuire,  to  walk  round  anything ;  and 
hence  a  purification  and  a  circumambulation  were  often 
expressed  by  the  same  word. 

Among  the  Hindoos,  the  same  rite  of  circumambulation 
has  always  been  practised.  As  an  instance,  we  may  cite 
the  ceremonies  which  are  to  be  performed  by  a  Brahmin 
upon  first  rising  from  bed  in  the  morning,  an  accurate 
account  of  which  has  been  given  by  Mr.  Colebrooke  in 
the  "Asiatic  Researches."  The  priest,  having  first  adored 
the  sun  while  directing  his  face  to  the  east,  then  walks 
towards  the  west  by  the  way  of  the  south,  saying,  at  the 
same  time,  "  I  follow  the  course  of  the  sun,"  which  he 
thus  explains :  "As  the  sun  in  his  course  moves  round 
the  world  by  the  way  of  the  south,  so  do  I  follow  that 


THE    RITE    OF    CIRCUMAMBULATION.  145 

luminary,  to  obtain  the  benefit  arising  from  a  journey 
round  the  earth  by  the  way  of  the  south."  * 

Lastly,  I  may  refer  to  the  preservation  of  this  rite 
among  the  Druids,  whose  "  mystical  dance  "  around  the 
cairn,  or  sacred  stones,  was  nothing  more  nor  less  than 
the  rite  of  circumambulation.  On  these  occasions  the 
priest  always  made  three  circuits,  from  east  to  west,  by 
the  right  hand,  around  the  altar  or  cairn,  accompanied  by 
all  the  worshippers.  And  so  sacred  was  the  rite  once 
considered,  that  we  learn  from  Toland  |  that  in  the  Scot 
tish  Isles,  once  a  principal  seat  of  the  Druidical  religion, 
the  people  "  never  come  to  the  ancient  sacrificing  and  fire- 
hallowing  cairns,  but  they  walk  three  times  around  them, 
from  east  to  west,  according  to  the  course  of  the  sun." 
This  sanctified  tour,  or  round  by  the  south,  he  observes, 
is  called  Deiseal,  as  the  contrary,  or  unhallowed  one  by 
the  north,  is  called  Tuapholl.  And  he  further  remarks, 
that  this  word  Deiseal  was  derived  "  from  Deas,  the  right 
(understanding  hand*)  and  soil,  one  of  the  ancient  names 
of  the  sun,  the  right  hand  in  this  round  being  ever  next 
the  heap." 

I  might  pursue  these  researches  still  further,  and  trace 
this  rite  of  circumambulation  to  other  nations  of  antiquity  ; 
but  I  conceive  that  enough  has  been  said  to  show  its 
universality,  as  well  as  the  tenacity  with  which  the  essen 
tial  ceremony  of  performing  the  motion  a  mystical  num 
ber  of  times,  and  always  by  the  right  hand,  from  the  east, 
through  the  south,  to  the  west,  was  preserved.  And  I 

*  See  a  paper  "on  the  religious  ceremonies  of  the  Hindus,"  by 
H.  T.  Colebrooke,  Esq..  in  the  Asiatic  Researches,  vol.  vi.  p.  357. 

t  A  Specimen  of  the  Critical  History  of  the  Celtic  Religion  and 
Learning,  Letter  ii.  §  xvii. 

IO 


146  THE    RITE    OF    CIRCUMAMBULATION. 

think  that  this  singular  analogy  to  the  same  rite  in  Free 
masonry  must  lead  us  to  the  legitimate  conclusion,  that 
the  common  source  of  all  these  rites  is  to  be  found  in  the 
identical  origin  of  the  Spurious  Freemasonry  or  pagan 
mysteries,  and  the  pure,  Primitive  Freemasonry,  from 
which  the  former  seceded  only  to  be  deteriorated. 

In  reviewing  what  has  been  said  on  this  subject,  it  will 
at  once  be  perceived  that  the  essence  of  the  ancient  rite 
consisted  in  making  the  circumambulation  around  the 
altar,  from  the  east  to  the  south,  from  the  south  to  the 
west,  thence  to  the  north,  and  to  the  east  again. 

Now,  in  this  the  masonic  rite  of  circumambulation 
strictly  agrees  with  the  ancient  one. 

But  this  circuit  by  the  right  hand,  it  is  admitted,  was 
done  as  a  representation  of  the  sun's  motion.  It  was  a 
symbol  of  the  sun's  apparent  course  around  the  earth. 

And  so,  then,  here  again  we  have  in  Masonry  that  old 
and  often-repeated  allusion  to  sun-worship,  which  has 
already  been  seen  in  the  officers  of  a  lodge,  and  in  the 
point  within  a  circle.  And  as  the  circumambulation  is 
made  around  the  lodge,  just  as  the  sun  was  supposed  to 
move  around  the  earth,  we  are  brought  back  to  the  origi 
nal  symbolism  with  which  we  commenced  —  that  the  lodge 
is  a  symbol  of  the  world. 


XXII. 

THE   RITE   OF  INTRUSTING,   AND  THE   SYMBOLISM 
OF   LIGHT. 


rite  of  intrusting,  to  which  we  are  now  to 
direct  our  attention,  will  supply  us  with  many 
important  and  interesting  symbols. 
There  is  an  important  period  in  the  ceremony  of 
masonic  initiation,  when  the  candidate  is  about  to  receive 
a  full  communication  of  the  mysteries  through  which  he 
has  passed,  and  to  which  the  trials  and  labors  which  he 
has  undergone  can  only  entitle  him.  This  ceremony  is 
technically  called  the  "  rite  of  intrusting"  because  it  is 
then  that  the  aspirant  begins  to  be  intrusted  with  that  for 
the  possession  of  which  he  was  seeking.*  It  is  equivalent 
to  what,  in  the  ancient  Mysteries,  was  called  the  "  au 
topsy  ,"t  or  the  seeing  of  what  only  the  initiated  were  per 
mitted  to  behold. 

*  Dr.  Oliver,  referring  to  the  "  twelve  grand  points  in  Masonry," 
which  formed  a  part  of  the  old  English  lectures,  says,  "  When 
the  candidate  was  intrusted,  he  represented  Asher,  for  he  was  then 
presented  with  the  glorious  fruit  of  masonic  knowledge,  as  Asher 
was  represented  by  fatness  and  royal  dainties."  —  Hist.  Landm., 
vol.  i.  lect.  xi.  p.  313. 

f  From  the  Greek  avioif/ta,  signifying  a  seeing  ivith  one's  own 
eyes.  The  candidate,  who  had  previously  been  called  a  mystcs,  or  a 

147 


148  THE    RITE    OF    INTRUSTING,    AND 

This  rite  of  intrusting  is,  of  course,  divided  into  sev 
eral  parts  or  periods  ;  for  the  aporreta,  or  secret  things 
of  Masonry,  are  not  to  be  given  at  once,  but  in  gradual 
progression,  It  begins,  however,  with  the  communica 
tion  of  LIGHT,  which,  although  but  a  preparation  for  the 
development  of  the  mysteries  which  are  to  follow,  must 
be  considered  as  one  of  the  most  important  symbols  in 
the  whole  science  of  masonic  symbolism.  So  important, 
indeed,  is  it,  and  so  much  does  it  pervade  with  its  influ 
ence  and  its  relations  the  whole  masonic  system,  that 
Freemasonry  itself  anciently  received,  among  other  ap 
pellations,  that  of  Lux,  or  Light,  to  signify  that  it  is  to  be 
regarded  as  that  sublime  doctrine  of  Divine  Truth  by 
which  the  path  of  him  who  has  attained  it  is  to  be  illumi 
nated  in  his  pilgrimage  of  life. 

The  Hebrew  cosmogonist  commences  his  description 
of  the  creation  by  the  declaration  that  "  God  said,  Let 
there  be  light,  and  there  was  light"  —  a  phrase  which,  in 
the  more  emphatic  form  that  it  has  received  in  the  original 
language  of  "  Be  light,  and  light  was,"*  is  said  to  have 
won  the  praise,  for  its  sublimity,  of  the  greatest  of  Gre 
cian  critics.  "  The  singularly  emphatic  summons,"  says 
a  profound  modern  writer,f  "  by  which  light  is  called  into 
existence,  is  probably  owing  to  the  preeminent  utility  and 
glory  of  that  element,  together  with  its  mysterious  nature, 
which  made  it  seem  as 

*  The  God  of  this  new  world,' 
and  won  for  it  the  earliest  adoration  of  mankind." 


blind  man,  from  fjvu,  to   shut  the   eyes,  began   at   this  point  to 
change  his  title  to  that  of  an  epopt,  or  an  eye-witness. 

*  T1&  ^rPI  "H&  ^fP  Tehi  aur  va  yehi  aur. 

f  Robert  William  Mackay,  Progress  oi  the  Intellect,  vol.  i.  p.  93. 


THE    SYMBOLISM    OF    LIGHT.  149 

Light  was,  in  accordance  with  this  old  religious  sen 
timent,  the  great  object  of  attainment  in  all  the  ancient 
religious  Mysteries.  It  was  there,  as  it  is  now,  in  Ma 
sonry,  made  the  symbol  of  truth  and  knowledge.  This 
was  always  its  ancient  symbolism,  and  we  must  never 
lose  sight  of  this  emblematic  meaning,  when  W7e  are 
considering  the  nature  and  signification  of  masonic  light. 
When  the  candidate  makes  a  demand  for  light,  it  is  not 
merely  for  that  material  light  which  is  to  remove  a  phys 
ical  darkness  ;  that  is  only  the  outward  form,  which  con 
ceals  the  inward  symbolism.  He  craves  an  intellectual 
illumination  which  will  dispel  the  darkness  of  mental 
and  moral  ignorance,  and  bring  to  his  view,  as  an  eye 
witness,  the  sublime  truths  of  religion,  philosophy,  and 
science,  which  it  is  the  great  design  of  Freemasonry  to 
teach. 

In  all  the  ancient  systems  this  reverence  for  light,  as 
the  symbol  of  truth,  was  predominant.  In  the  Mysteries 
of  every  nation,  the  candidate  was  made  to  pass,  during 
his  initiation,  through  scenes  of  utter  darkness,  and  at 
length  terminated  his  trials  by  an  admission  to  the  splen 
didly-illuminated  sacellum,  or  sanctuary,  where  he  was 
said  to  have  attained  pure  and  perfect  light,  and  where  he 
received  the  necessary  instructions  which  were  to  invest 
him  with  that  knowledge  of  the  divine  truth  which  it  had 
been  the  object  of  all  his  labors  to  gain,  and  the  design 
of  the  institution,  into  which  he  had  been  initiated,  to 
bestow. 

Liglit,  therefore,  became  synonymous  with  truth  and 
knowledge,  and  darkness  with  falsehood  and  ignorance. 
We  shall  find  this  symbolism  pervading  not  only  the  in 
stitutions,  but  the  rery  languages,  of  antiquity. 


I5O  THE    RITE    OF    INTRUSTING,    AND 

Thus,  among  the  Hebrews,  the  word  AUR,  in  the  sin 
gular,  signified  light,  but  in  the  plural,  AURIM,  it 
denoted  the  revelation  of  the  divine  will ;  and  the  aurim 
and  thummim,  literally  the  lights  and  truths,  constituted 
a  part  of  the  breastplate  whence  the  high  priest  ob 
tained  oracular  responses  to  the  questions  which  he  pro 
posed.* 

There  is  a  peculiarity  about  the  word  "  light,"  in  the 
old  Egyptian  language,  which  is  well  worth  considera 
tion  in  this  connection.  Among  the  Egyptians,  the  hare 
was  the  hieroglyphic  of  eyes  that  are  open;  and  it  was 
adopted  because  that  timid  animal  was  supposed  never 
to  close  his  organs  of  vision,  being  always  on  the  watch 
for  his  enemies.  The  hare  was  afterwards  adopted  by 
the  priests  as  a  symbol  of  the  mental  illumination  or 
mystic  light  which  was  revealed  to  the  neophytes,  in 
the  contemplation  of  divine  truth,  during  the  progress 
of  their  initiation  ;  and  hence,  according  to  Champollion, 
the  hare  was  also  the  symbol  of  Osiris,  their  chief  god; 
thus  showing  the  intimate  connection  which  they  believed 
to  exist  between  the  process  of  initiation  into  their  sacred 
rites  and  the  contemplation  of  the  divine  nature.  But  the 
Hebrew  word  for  hare  is  ARNaBeT.  Now,  this  is  com 
pounded  of  the  two  words  AUR,  light,  and  NaBaT,  to 
behold,  and  therefore  the  word  which  in  the  Egyptian 
denoted  initiation,  in  the  Hebrew  signified  to  behold  the 

*  "And  thou  shalt  put  in  the  breastplate  of  judgment  the 
Urim  and  the  Thummim."  —  Exod.  xxviii.  30.  —  The  Egyptian 
judges  also  wore  breastplates,  on  which  was  represented  the 
figure  of  jRa,  the  sun,  and  T/tme,  the  goddess  of  Truth,  represent 
ing,  says  Gliddon,  "  Ra,  or  the  sun,  in  a  double  capacity —  physi 
cal  and  intellectual  light;  and  T/tme,  in  a  double  capacity  — 
justice  and  truth."  —  Ancient  Egypt,  p.  33. 


THE    SYMBOLISM    OF    LIGHT.  151 

light.  In  two  nations  so  intimately  connected  in  history 
as  the  Hebrew  and  the  Egyptian,  such  a  coincidence 
could  not  have  been  accidental.  It  shows  the  preva 
lence  of  the  sentiment,  at  that  period,  that  the  communi 
cation  of  light  was  the  prominent  design  of  the  Mysteries 
—  so  prominent  that  the  one  was  made  the  synonyme  of 
the  other.* 

The  worship  of  light,  either  in  its  pure  essence  or  in 
the  forms  of  sun-worship  and  fire-worship,  because  the 
sun  and  the  fire  were  causes  of  light,  was  among  the 
earliest  and  most  universal  superstitions  of  the  world. 
Light  was  considered  as  the  primordial  source  of  all  that 
was  holy  and  intelligent ;  and  darkness,  as  its  opposite, 
was  viewed  as  but  another  name  for  evil  and  ignorance. 
Dr.  Beard,  in  an  article  on  this  subject,  in  Kitto's  Cyclo 
paedia  of  Biblical  Literature,  attributes  this  view  of  the 
divine  nature  of  light,  which  was  entertained  by  the 
nations  of  the  East,  to  the  fact  that,  in  that  part  of  the 
world,  light  "  has  a  clearness  and  brilliancy,  is  accompa 
nied  by  an  intensity  of  heat,  and  is  followed  in  its  influence 
by  a  largeness  of  good,  of  which  the  inhabitants  of  less 
genial  climates  have  no  conception.  Light  easily  and 
naturally  became,  in  consequence,  with  Orientals,  a  rep 
resentative  of  the  highest  human  good.  All  the  more 
joyous  emotions  of  the  mind,  all  the  pleasing  sensations 
of  the  frame,  all  the  happy  hours  of  domestic  intercourse, 

*  We  owe  this  interesting  discovery  to  F.  Portal,  who  has  given 
it  in  his  elaborate  work  on  Egyptian  symbols  as  compared  with 
those  of  the  Hebrews.  To  those  who  cannot  consult  the  original 
work  in  French,  I  can  safely  recommend  the  excellent  translation 
by  my  esteemed  friend,  Bro.  John  W.  Simons,  of  New  York,  and 
which  will  be  found  in  the  thirtieth  volume  of  the  "  Universal 
Masonic  Library." 


152  THE    RITE    OF    INTRUSTING,    AND 

were  described  under  imagery  derived  from  light.  The 
transition  was  natural  —  from  earthly  to  heavenly,  from 
corporeal  to  spiritual  things  ;  and  so  light  came  to  typify 
true  religion  and  the  felicity  which  it  imparts.  But  as 
light  not  only  came  from  God,  but  also  makes  man's  way 
clear  before  him,  so  it  was  employed  to  signify  moral 
truth,  and  preeminently  that  divine  system  of  truth  which 
is  set  forth  in  the  Bible,  from  its  earliest  gleamings  on 
ward  to  the  perfect  day  of  the  Great  Sun  of  Righteous 
ness." 

lam  inclined  to  believe  that  in  this  passage  the  learned 
author  has  erred,  not  in  the  definition  of  the  symbol,  but 
in  his  deduction  of  its  origin.  Light  became  the  object 
of  religious  veneration,  not  because  of  the  brilliancy  and 
clearness  of  a  particular  sky,  nor  the  warmth  and  genial 
influence  of  a  particular  climate,  —  for  the  worship  was 
universal,  in  Scandinavia  as  in  India,  —  but  because  it 
was  the  natural  and  inevitable  result  of  the  worship  of 
the  sun,  the  chief  deity  of  Sabianism  —  a  faith  which 
pervaded  to  an  extraordinary  extent  the  whole  religious 
sentiment  of  antiquity.* 

Light  was  venerated  because  it  was  an  emanation  from 
the  sun,  and,  in  the  materialism  of  the  ancient  faith,  light 
and  darkness  were  both  personified  as  positive  existences, 
the  one  being  the  enemy  of  the  other.  Two  principles 
were  thus  supposed  to  reign  over  the  world,  antagonistic 
to  each  other,  and  each  alternately  presiding  over  the 
destinies  of  mankind. t 

*  "The  most  early  defection  to  Idolatry,"  says  Bryant,  ''con 
sisted  in  the  adoration  of  the  sun  and  the  worship  of  demons, 
styled  Baalim." — Analysis  of  Anc.  Mythol.  vol.  iii.  p.  431. 

t  The  remarks  of  Mr.  Duncan  on  this  subject  are  well  worth 
perusal.  "  Light  has  always  formed  one  of  the  primary  objects 


THE    SYMBOLISM    OF    LIGHT.  153 

The  contests  between  the  good  and  evil  principle,  sym 
bolized  by  light  and  darkness,  composed  a  very  large 
part  of  the  ancient  mythology  in  all  countries. 

Among  the  Egyptians,  Osiris  was  light,  or  the  sun  ; 
and  his  arch-enemy,  Typhon,  who  ultimately  destroyed 
him,  was  the  representative  of  darkness. 

Zoroaster,  the  father  of  the  ancient  Persian  religion, 
taught  the  same  doctrine,  and  called  the  principle  of  light, 
or  good,  Ormuzd,  and  the  principle  of  darkness,  or  evil, 

of  heathen  adoration.  The  glorious  spectacle  of  animated  nature 
would  lose  all  its  interest  if  man  were  deprived  of  vision,  and  light 
extinguished;  for  that  which  is  unseen  and  unknown  becomes,  for 
all  practical  purposes,  as  valueless  as  if  it  were  non-existent. 
Light  is  a  source  of  positive  happiness;  without  it,  man  could 
barelv  exist;  and  since  all  religious  opinion  is  based  on  the  ideas 
of  pleasure  and  pain,  and  the  corresponding  sensations  of  hope 
and  fear,  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  if  the  heathen  reverenced  light. 
Darkness,  on  the  contrary,  by  replunging  nature,  as  it  were,  into 
a  state  of  nothingness,  and  depriving  man  of  the  pleasurable 
emotions  conveyed  through  the  organ  of  sight,  was  ever  held  in 
abhorrence,  as  a  source  of  misery  and  fear.  The  two  opposite  con 
ditions  in  which  man  thus  found  himself  placed,  occasioned  by 
the  enjoyment  or  the  banishment  of  light,  induced  him  to  imagine 
the  existence  of  two  antagonist  principles  in  nature,  to  whose 
dominion  he  was  alternately  subject.  Light  multiplied  his  enjoy 
ments,  and  darkness  diminished  them.  The  former,  accordingly, 
became  his  friend,  and  the  latter  his  enemy.  The  words  '  light ' 
and  '  good,'  and  '  darkness  '  and  '  evil,'  conveyed  similar  ideas, 
and  became,  in  sacred  language,  synonymous  terms.  But  as  good 
and  evil  were  not  supposed  to  flow  from  one  and  the  same  source, 
no  more  than  light  and  darkness  were  supposed  to  have  a  com 
mon  origin,  two  distinct  and  independent  principles  were  estab 
lished,  totally  different  in  their  nature,  of  opposite  characters, 
pursuing  a  conflicting  line  of  action,  and  creating  antagonistic 
effects.  Such  was  the  origin  of  this  famous  dogma,  recognized  by 
all  the  heathens,  and  incorporated  with  all  the  sacred  fables, 
cosmogonies,  and  mysteries  of  antiquity."  —  The  Religions  of 
Profane  Antiquity,  p.  186. 


154  THE    RITE    OF   INTRUSTING,    AND 

Ahriman.  The  former,  born  of  the  purest  light,  and  the 
latter,  sprung  from  utter  darkness,  are,  in  this  mythology, 
continually  making  war  on  each  other. 

Manes,  or  Manichaeus,  the  founder  of  the  sect  of  Mani- 
chees,  in  the  third  century,  taught  that  there  are  two 
principles  from  which  all  things  proceed  ;  the  one  is  a 
pure  and  subtile  matter,  called  Light,  and  the  other  a 
gross  and  corrupt  substance,  called  Darkness.  Each  of 
these  is  subject  to  the  dominion  of  a  superintending  being, 
whose  existence  is  from  all  eternity.  The  being  who 
presides  over  the  light  is  called  God;  he  that  rules  over 
the  darkness  is  called  Hyle,  or  Demon.  The  ruler  of 
the  light  is  supremely  happy,  good,  and  benevolent, 
while  the  ruler  over  darkness  is  unhappy,  evil,  and 
malignant. 

Pythagoras  also  maintained  this  doctrine  of  two  antag 
onistic  principles.  He  called  the  one,  unity,  light,  the 
right  hand,  equality,  stability,  and  a  straight  line  ;  the 
other  he  named  binary,  darkness,  the  left  hand,  inequality, 
instability,  and  a  curved  line.  Of  the  colors,  he  attributed 
white  to  the  good  principle,  and  black  to  the  evil  one. 

The  Cabalists  gave  a  prominent  place  to  light  in 
their  system  of  cosmogony.  They  taught  that,  before 
the  creation  of  the  world,  all  space  was  filled  with  what 
they  called  Aur  en  soph,  or  the  Eternal  Light,  and  that 
when  the  Divine  Mind  determined  or  willed  the  produc 
tion  of  Nature,  the  Eternal  Light  withdrew  to  a  central 
point,  leaving  around  it  an  empty  space,  in  which  the 
process  of  creation  went  on  by  means  of  emanations  from 
the  central  mass  of  light,  It  is  unnecessary  to  enter  into 
the  Cabalistic  account  of  creation  ;  it  is  sufficient  here 
to  remark  that  all  was  done  through  the  mediate  influence 


THE    SYMBOLISM   OF   LIGHT.  155 

of  the  Aur  en  soph,  or  eternal  light,  which  produces 
coarse  matter,  but  one  degree  above  nonentity,  only  when 
it  becomes  so  attenuated  as  to  be  lost  in  darkness. 

The  Brahminical  doctrine  was,  that  "  light  and  dark 
ness  are  esteemed  the  world's  eternal  ways ;  he  who 
walketh  in  the  former  returneth  not ;  that  is  to  say,  he 
goeth  to  eternal  bliss  ;  whilst  he  who  walketh  in  the  latter 
cometh  back  again  upon  earth,"  and  is  thus  destined  to 
pass  through  further  transmigrations,  until  his  soul  is 
perfectly  purified  by  light.* 

In  all  the  ancient  systems  of  initiation  the  candidate 
was  shrouded  in  darkness,  as  a  preparation  for  the  recep 
tion  of  light.  The  duration  varied  in  the  different  rites. 
In  the  Celtic  Mysteries  of  Druidism,  the  period  in  which 
the  aspirant  was  immersed  in  darkness  was  nine  days 
and  nights ;  among  the  Greeks,  at  Eleusis,  it  was  three 
times  as  long ;  and  in  the  still  severer  rites  of  Mithras,  in 
Persia,  fifty  days  of  darkness,  solitude,  and  fasting  were 
imposed  upon  the  adventurous  neophyte,  who,  by  these 
excessive  trials,  was  at  length  entitled  to  the  full  commu 
nication  of  the  light  of  knowledge. 

Thus  it  will  be  perceived  that  the  religious  sentiment 
of  a  good  and  an  evil  principle  gave  to  darkness,  in  the 

*  See  the  "Bhagvat  Geeta,"  one  of  the  religious  books  of  Brah- 
minism.  A  writer  in  Blackwood,  in  an  article  on  the  "  Castes 
and  Creeds  of  India,"  vol.  Ixxxi.  p.  316,  thus  accounts  for  the 
adoration  of  light  by  the  early  nations  of  the  world  :  "  Can  we 
wonder  at  the  worship  of  light  by  those  early  nations?  Carry  our 
thoughts  back  to  their  remote  times,  and  our  only  wonder  would 
be  if  they  did  not  so  adore  it.  The  sun  is  life  as  well  as  light  to 
all  that  is  on  the  earth  —  as  we  of  the  present  day  know  even 
better  than  they  of  old.  Moving  in  dazzling  radiance  or  brilliant- 
hued  pageantry  through  the  sky,  scanning  in  calm  royalty  all  that 
passes  below,  it  seems  the  very  god  of  this  fair  world,  which  lives 
and  blooms  but  in  his  smile." 


1 5  5  THE    RITE    OF    INTRUSTING,    AND 

ancient  symbolism,  a  place  equally  as  prominent  as  that 
of  light. 

The  same  religious  sentiment  of  the  ancients,  modified, 
however,  in  its  details,  by  our  better  knowledge  of  divine 
things,  has  supplied  Freemasonry  with  a  double  symbol 
ism  —  that  of  Light  and  Darkness. 

Darkness  is  the  symbol  of  initiation.  It  is  intended  to 
remind  the  candidate  of  his  ignorance,  which  Masonry  is 
to  enlighten  ;  of  his  evil  nature,  which  Masonry  is  to  puri 
fy  ;  of  the  world,  in  whose  obscurity  he  has  been  wander 
ing,  and  from  which  Masonry  is  to  rescue  him. 

Light,  on  the  other  hand,  is  the  symbol  of  the  autopsy, 
the  sight  of  the  mysteries,  the  intrusting,  the  full  fruition 
of  masonic  truth  and  knowledge. 

Initiation  precedes  the  communication  of  knowledge  in 
Masonry,  as  darkness  preceded  light  in  the  old  cosmogo 
nies.  Thus,  in  Genesis,  we  see  that  in  the  beginning  "  the 
world  was  without  form,  and  void,  and  darkness  was  on 
the  face  of  the  deep."  The  Chaldean  cosmogony  taught 
that  in  the  beginning  "  all  was  darkness  and  water." 
The  Phoanicians  supposed  that  "the  beginning  of  all 
things  was  a  wind  of  black  air,  and  a  chaos  dark  as 
Erebus."  * 

*  The  Institutes  of  Menu,  which  are  the  acknowledged  code  of 
the  Brahmins,  inform  us  that  "  the  world  was  all  darkness,  un- 
discernible,  undistinguishable  altogether,  as  in  a  profound  sleep, 
till  the  self-existent,  invisible  God,  making  it  manifest  with  five 
elements  and  other  glorious  forms,  perfectly  dispelled  the  gloom." 
—  Sir  WILLIAM  JONES,  On  the  Gods  of  Greece.  Asiatic  Researches, 
\.  244. 

Among  the  Rosicrucians,  who  have,  by  some,  been  improperly 
confounded  with  the  Freemasons,  the  word  lux  was  used  to  signify 
a  knowledge  of  the  philosopher's  stone,  or  the  great  desideratum 
of  a  universal  elixir  and  a  universal  menstruum.  This  was  their 
truth. 


THE    SYMBOLISM    OF    LIGHT.  157 

But  out  of  all  this  darkness  sprang  forth  light,  at  the 
divine  command,  and  the  sublime  phrase,  "  Let  there  be 
light,"  is  repeated,  in  some  substantially  identical  form,  in 
all  the  ancient  histories  of  creation. 

So,  too,  out  of  the  mysterious  darkness  of  Masonry 
comes  the  full  blaze  of  masonic  light.  One  must  precede 
the  other,  as  the  evening  preceded  the  morning.  "  So  the 
evening  and  the  morning  were  the  first  day." 

This  thought  is  preserved  in  the  great  motto  of  the 
Order,  "  Lux  e  tenebris"  — Light  out  of  darkness.  It  is 
equivalent  to  this  other  sentence  :  Truth  out  of  initiation. 
Lux,  or  light,  is  truth  ;  tenebrce,  or  darkness,  is  initiation. 

It  is  a  beautiful  and  instructive  portion  of  our  symbol 
ism,  this  connection  of  darkness  and  light,  and  well  de 
serves  a  further  investigation. 

"  Genesis  and  the  cosmogonies,"  says  Portal,  "  mention 
the  antagonism  of  light  and  darkness.  The  form  of  this 
fable  varies  accprding  to  each  nation,  but  the  foundation 
is  everywhere  the  same.  Under  the  symbol  of  the  crea 
tion  of  the  world  it  presents  the  picture  of  regeneration 
and  initiation."  * 

Plutarch  says  that  to  die  is  to  be  initiated  into  the 
greater  Mysteries  ;  and  the  Greek  word  TeA«ur«v,  which 
signifies  to  die,  means  also  to  be  initiated.  But  black, 
which  is  the  symbolic  color  of  darkness,  is  also  the  sym 
bol  of  death.  And  hence,  again,  darkness,  like  death,  is 
the  symbol  of  initiation.  It  was  for  this  reason  that  all 
the  ancient  initiations  were  performed  at  night.  The 
celebration  of  the  Mysteries  was  always  nocturnal.  .  The 
same  custom  prevails  in  Freemasonry,  and  the  explana 
tion  is  the  same.  Death  and  the  resurrection  were  taught 

*  On  Symbolic  Colors,  p.  23,  Inman's  translation. 


158  THE    RITE    OF    INTRUSTING. 

in  the  Mysteries,  as  they  are  in  Freemasonry.  The  ini 
tiation  was  the  lesson  of  death.  The  full  fruition  or 
autopsy,  the  reception  of  light,  was  the  lesson  of  regener 
ation  or  resurrection. 

Light  is,  therefore,  a  fundamental  symbol  in  Freema 
sonry.  It  is,  in  fact,  the  first  important  symbol  that  is 
presented  to  the  neophyte  in  his  instructions,  and  contains 
within  itself  the  very  essence  of  Speculative  Masonry, 
which  is  nothing  more  than  the  contemplation  of  intellec 
tual  light  or  truth.* 

*  Freemasonry  having  received  the  name  of  lux,  or  light,  its  dis 
ciples  have,  very  appropriately,  been  called  "  the  Sons  of  Light." 
Thus  Burns,  in  his  celebrated  Farewell :  — 

"  Oft  have  I  met  your  social  band, 

And  spent  the  cheerful,  festive  night; 
Oft,  honored  with  supreme  command, 
Presided  o'er  the  sons  of  light" 


XXIII. 

SYMBOLISM  OF  THE  CORNER-STONE. 

E  come  next,  in  a  due  order  of  precedence,  to 
the  consideration  of  the  symbolism  connected 
with  an  important  ceremony  in  the  ritual  of 
the  first  degree  of  Masonry,  which  refers  to  the  north-east 
corner  of  the  lodge.  In  this  ceremony  the  candidate  be 
comes  the  representative  of  a  spiritual  corner-stone.  And 
hence,  to  thoroughly  comprehend  the  true  meaning  of  the 
emblematic  ceremony,  it  is  essential  that  we  should  inves 
tigate  the  symbolism  of  the  corner-stone. 

The  corner-stone,*  as  the  foundation  on  which  the 
entire  building  is  supposed  to  rest,  is,  of  course,  the  most 
important  stone  in  the  whole  edifice.  It  is,  at  least,  so 
considered  by  operative  masons.  It  is  laid  with  impres 
sive  ceremonies ;  the  assistance  of  speculative  masons  is 
often,  and  always  ought  to  be,  invited,  to  give  dignity  to 

*  Thus  defined:  "  The  stone  which  lies  at  the  corner  of  two 
walls,  and  unites  them ;  the  principal  stone,  and  especially  the 
stone  which  forms  the  corner  of  the  foundation  of  an  edifice."  — 
WEBSTER. 


l6o  SYMBOLISM    OF    THE    CORNER-STONE. 

the  occasion  ;  and  the  event  is  viewed  by  the  workmen  as 
an  important  era  in  the  construction  of  the  edifice.* 

In  the  rich  imagery  of  Orientalism,  the  corner-stone  is 
frequently  referred  to  as  the  appropriate  symbol  of  a  chief 
or  prince  who  is  the  defence  and  bulwark  of  his  people, 
and  more  particularly  in  Scripture,  as  denoting  that  prom 
ised  Messiah  who  was  to  be  the  sure  prop  and  support  of 
all  who  should  put  their  trust  in  his  divine  mission. -j- 

To  the  various  properties  that  are  necessary  to  consti 
tute  a  true  corner-stone,  —  its  firmness  and  durability,  its 
perfect  form,  and  its  peculiar  position  as  the  connecting 

*  Among  the  ancients  the  corner-stone  of  important  edifices 
was  laid  with  impressive  ceremonies.  These  are  well  described  by 
Tacitus,  in  his  history  of  the  rebuilding  of  the  Capitol.  After 
detailing  the  preliminary  ceremonies  which  consisted  in  a  pro 
cession  of  vestals,  who  with  chaplets  of  flowers  encompassed  the 
ground  and  consecrated  it  by  libations  of  living  water,  he  adds 
that,  after  solemn  praj'er,  Helvidius,  to  whom  the  care  of  rebuild 
ing  the  Capitol  had  been  committed,  "  laid  his  hand  upon  the  fillets 
that  adorned  the  foundation  stone,  and  also  the  cords  by  which 
it  was  to  be  drawn  to  its  place.  In  that  instant  the  magistrates, 
the  priests,  the  senators,  the  Roman  knights,  and  a  number  of 
citizens,  all  acting  with  one  effort  and  general  demonstrations  of 
joy,  laid  hold  of  the  ropes  and  dragged  the  ponderous  load  to  its 
destined  spot.  They  then  threw  in  ingots  of  gold  and  silver,  and 
other  metals,  which  had  never  been  melted  in  the  furnace,  but 
still  retained,  untouched  by  human  art,  their  first  formation  in 
the  bowels  of  the  earth."  —  Tac.  Hist.,  1.  iv.  c.  53,  Murphy's 
transl. 

t  As,  for  instance,  in  Psalm  cxviii.  22,  "The  stone  which  the 
builders  refused  is  become  the  head-stone  of  the  corner,"  which, 
Clarke  says,  "  seems  to  have  been  originally  spoken  of  David,  who 
was  at  first  rejected  by  the  Jewish  rulers,  but  was  afterwards  chosen 
by  the  Lord  to  be  the  great  ruler  of  his  people  in  Israel ;  "  and  in 
Isaiah  xxviii.  16,  "  Behold,  I  lay  in  Zion,  for  a  foundation,  a  stone, 
a  tried  stone,  a  precious  corner-stone,  a  sure  foundation,"  which 
clearly  refers  to  the  promised  Messiah. 


SYMBOLISM    OF    THE    CORNER-STONE.  l6l 

link  between  the  walls,  —  we  must  attribute  the  important 
character  that  it  has  assumed  in  the  language  of  symbol 
ism.  Freemasonry,  which  alone,  of  all  existing  institu 
tions,  has  preserved  this  ancient  and  universal  language, 
could  not,  as  it  may  well  be  supposed,  have  neglected  to 
adopt  the  corner-stone  among  its  most  cherished  and  im 
pressive  symbols ;  and  hence  it  has  referred  to  it  many  of 
its  most  significant  lessons  of  morality  and  truth. 

I  have  already  alluded  to  that  peculiar  mode  of  masonic 
symbolism  by  which  the  speculative  mason  is  supposed  to 
be  engaged  in  the  construction  of  a  spiritual  temple,  in 
imitation  of,  or,  rather,  in  reference  to,  that  material  one 
which  was  erected  by  his  operative  predecessors  at  Jeru 
salem.  Let  us  again,  for  a  few  moments,  direct  our  atten 
tion  to  this  important  fact,  and  revert  to  the  connection 
which  originally  existed  between  the  operative  and  specu 
lative  divisions  of  Freemasonry.  This  is  an  essential 
introduction  to  any  inquiry  into  the  symbolism  of  the 
corner-stone. 

The  difference  between  operative  and  speculative  Ma 
sonry  is  simply  this  —  that  while  the  former  was  engaged 
in  the  construction  of  a  material  temple,  formed,  it  is  true, 
of  the  most  magnificent  materials  which  the  quarries 
of  Palestine,  the  mountains  of  Lebanon,  and  the  golden 
shores  of  Ophir  could  contribute,  the  latter  occupies  itself 
in  the  erection  of  a  spiritual  house,  —  a  house  not  made 
with  hands,  —  in  which,  for  stones  and  cedar,  and  gold 
and  precious  stones,  are  substituted  the  virtues  of  the 
heart,  the  pure  emotions  of  the  soul,  the  warm  affec 
tions  gushing  forth  from  the  hidden  fountains  of  the  spirit, 
so  that  the  very  presence  of  Jehovah,  our  Father  and 
our  God,  shall  be  enshrined  within  us  as  his  Shekinah 
ii 


l62  SYMBOLISM    OF   THE    CORNER-STONE. 

was  in  the  holy  of  holies  of  the  material  temple  at  Jeru 
salem. 

The  Speculative  Mason,  then,  if  he  rightly  comprehends 
the  scope  and  design  of  his  profession,  is  occupied,  from 
his  very  first  admission  into  the  order  until  the  close  of 
his  labors  and  his  life,  —  and  the  true  mason's  labor  ends 
only  with  his  life, —  in  the  construction,  the  adornment, 
and  the  completion  of  this  spiritual  temple  of  his  body. 
He  lays  its  foundation  in  a  firm  belief  and  an  unshaken 
confidence  in  the  wisdom,  power,  and  goodness  of  God. 
This  is  his  first  step.  Unless  his  trust  is  in  God,  and  in 
him  only,  he  can  advance  no  further  than  the  threshold  of 
initiation.  And  then  he  prepares  his  materials  with  the 
gauge  and  gavel  of  Truth,  raises  the  walls  by  the  plumb- 
line  of  Rectitude,  squares  his  work  with  the  square  of 
Virtue,  connects  the  whole  with  the  cement  of  Brotherly 
Love,  and  thus  skilfully  erects  the  living  edifice  of 
thoughts,  and  words,  and  deeds,  in  accordance  with  the 
designs  laid  down  by  the  Master  Architect  of  the  uni 
verse  in  the  great  Book  of  Revelation. 

The  aspirant  for  masonic  light  —  the  Neophyte  —  on 
his  first  entrance  within  our  sacred  porch,  prepares  him 
self  for  this  consecrated  labor  of  erecting  within  his  own 
bosom  a  fit  dwelling-place  for  the  Divine  Spirit,  and  thus 
commences  the  noble  work  by  becoming  himself  the 
corner-stone  on  which  this  spiritual  edifice  is  to  be 
erected. 

Here,  then,  is  the  beginning  of  the  symbolism  of  the 
corner-stone  ;  and  it  is  singularly  curious  to  observe  how 
every  portion  of  the  archetype  has  been  made  to  perform 
its  appropriate  duty  in  thoroughly  carrying  out  the  em 
blematic  allusions. 


SYMBOLISM    OF   THE    CORNER-STONE.  163 

As,  for  example,  this  symbolic  reference  of  the  corner 
stone  of  a  material  edifice  to  a  mason,  when,  at  his  first 
initiation,  he  commences  the  intellectual  task  of  erecting 
a  spiritual  temple  in  his  heart,  is  beautifully  sustained  in 
the  allusions  to  all  the  various  parts  and  qualities  which 
are  to  be  found  in  a  "  well-formed,  true  and  trusty  "  corner 
stone.*  Its  form  and  substance  are  both  seized  by  the 
comprehensive  grasp  of  the  symbolic  science. 

Let  us  trace  this  symbolism  in  its  minute  details.  And, 
first,  as  to  the  form  of  the  corner-stone. 

The  corner-stone  of  an  edifice  must  be  perfectly  square 
on  its  surfaces,  lest,  by  a  violation  of  this  true  geometric 
figure,  the  walls  to  be  erected  upon  it  should  deviate  from 
the  required  line  of  perpendicularity  which  can  alone 
give  strength  and  proportion  to  the  building. 

Perfectly  square  on  its  surfaces,  it  is,  in  its  form  and 
solid  contents,  a  cube.  Now,  the  square  and  the  cube 
are  both  important  and  significant  symbols. 

The  square  is  an  emblem  of  morality,  or  the  strict  per 
formance  of  every  duty.f  Among  the  Greeks,  who  were 
a  highly  poetical  and  imaginative  people,  the  square  was 


*  In  the  ritual  "observed  at  lay  ing  the  foundation-stone  of  public 
structures,"  it  is  said,  "The  principal  architect  then  presents  the 
working  tools  to  the  Grand  Master,  who  applies  the  plumb,  square, 
and  level  to  the  stone,  in  their  proper  positions,  and  pronounces  it 
to  be  well-formed,  true,  and  trusty.'1''  —  WEBB'S  Monitor,  p.  120. 

f  "The  square  teaches  us  to  regulate  our  conduct  by  the  princi 
ples  of  morality  and  virtue."  — Ritual  of  the  E.  A.  Degree.  —  The 
old  York  lectures  define  the  square  thus  :  "  The  square  is  the 
theory  of  universal  duty,  and  consisteth  in  two  right  lines,  form 
ing  an  angle  of  perfect  sincerity,  or  ninety  degrees;  the  longest 
side  is  the  sum  of  the  lengths  of  the  several  duties  which  we  owe 
to  all  men.  And  every  man  should  be  agreeable  to  this  square, 
when  perfectly  finished." 


164  SYMBOLISM    OF    THE    CORNER-STONE. 

deemed  a  figure  of  perfection,  and  the  br^o  TfTodj'o^oc  — 
u  the  square  or  cubical  man,"  as  the  words  may  be  trans 
lated —  was  a  term  used  to  designate  a  man  of  unsullied 
integrity.  Hence  one  of  their  most  eminent  metaphysi 
cians*  has  said  that  "  he  who  valiantly  sustains  the  shocks 
of  adverse  fortune,  demeaning  himself  uprightly,  is  truly 
good  and  of  a  square  posture,  without  reproof;  and  he 
who  would  assume  such  a  square  posture  should  often 
subject  himself  to  the  perfectly  square  test  of  justice  and 
integrity." 

The  cube,  in  the  language  of  symbolism,  denotes  truth.f 
Among  the  pagan  mythologists,  Mercury,  or  Hermes,  was 
always  represented  by  a  cubical  stone,  because  he  was  the 
type  of  truth, |  and  the  same  form  was  adopted  by  the  Is 
raelites  in  the  construction  of  the  tabernacle,  which  was 
to  be  the  dweiling-place  of  divine  truth. 

And,  then,  as  to  its  material :  This,  too,  is  an  essential 
element  of  all  symbolism.  Constructed  of  a  material  finer 
and  more  polished  than  that  which  constitutes  the  re 
mainder  of  the  edifice,  often  carved  with  appropriate  de 
vices  and  fitted  for  its  distinguished  purpose  by  the  utmost 
skill  of  the  sculptor's  art,  it  becomes  the  symbol  of  that 

*  Aristotle. 

t  "  The  cube  is  a  symbol  of  truth,  of  wisdom,  and  moral  perfec 
tion.  The  new  Jerusalem,  promised  in  the  Apocalypse,  is  equal 
in  length,  breadth,  and  height.  The  Mystical  city  ought  to  be 
considered  as  a  new  church,  where  divine  wisdom  will  reign."  — 
OLIVER'S  Landmarks,  ii.  p.  357.  —  And  he  might  have  added, 
where  eternal  truth  will  be  present. 

\  In  the  most  primitive  times,  all  the  gods  appear  to  have  been 
represented  by  cubical  blocks  of  stone;  and  Pausanias  says  that 
he  saw  thirty  of  these  stones  in  the  city  of  Pharae,  which  rep 
resented  as  many  deities.  The  first  of  the  kind,  it  is  probable, 
were  dedicated  to  Hermes,  whence  they  derived  their  name  of 
"  Herman." 


SYMBOLISM    OF    THE    CORNER-STONE.  165 

beauty  of  holiness  with  which  the  Hebrew  Psalmist  has 
said  that  we  are  to  worship  Jehovah.* 

The  ceremony,  then,  of  the  north-east  corner  of  the 
lodge,  since  it  derives  all  its  typical  value  from  this  sym 
bolism  of  the  corner-stone,  was  undoubtedly  intended  to 
portray,  in  this  consecrated  language,  the  necessity  of 
integrity  and  stability  of  conduct,  of  truthfulness  and  up 
rightness  of  character,  and  of  purity  and  holiness  of  life, 
which,  just  at  that  time  and  in  that  place,  the  candidate  is 
most  impressively  charged  to  maintain. 

But  there  is  also  a  symbolism  about  the  position  of  the 
corner-stone,  which  is  well  worthy  of  attention.  It  is 
familiar  to  every  one,  —  even  to  those  who  are  without 
the  pale  of  initiation,  —  that  the  custom  of  laying  the 
corner-stones  of  public  buildings  has  always  been  per 
formed  by  the  masonic  order  with  peculiar  and  impres 
sive  ceremonies,  and  that  this  stone  is  invariably  deposited 
in  the  north-east  corner  of  the  foundation  of  the  intended 
structure.  Now,  the  question  naturally  suggests  itself, 
Whence  does  this  ancient  and  invariable  usage  derive  its 
origin?  Why  may  not  the  stone  be  deposited  in  any 
other  corner  or  portion  of  the  edifice,  as  convenience  or 
necessity  may  dictate?  The  custom  of  placing  the  founda 
tion-stone  in  the  north-east  corner  must  have  been  origi 
nally  adopted  for  some  good  and  sufficient  reason  ;  for 
we  have  a  right  to  suppose  that  it  was  not  an  arbitrary 
selection. f  Was  it  in  reference  to  the  ceremony  which 

*  "  Give  unto  Jehovah  the  glory  due  unto  His  name;  worship 
Jehovah  in  the  beauty  of  holiness."  —  Psalm  xxix.  2. 

t  It  is  at  least  a  singular  coincidence  that  in  the  Brahminical 
religion  great  respect  was  paid  to  the  north-east  point  of  the 
heavens.  Thus  it  is  said  in  the  Institutes  of  Menu,  "  If  he  has 
any  incurable  disease,  let  him  advance  in  a  straight  path  towards 


1 66  SYMBOLISM    OF    THE    CORNER-STONE. 

takes  place  in  the  lodge?  Or  is  that  in  reference  to  the 
position  of  the  material  stone?  No  matter  which  has  the 
precedence  in  point  of  time,  the  principle  is  the  same. 
The  position  of  the  stone  in  the  north-east  corner  of  the 
building  is  altogether  symbolic,  and  the  symbolism  exclu 
sively  alludes  to  certain  doctrines  which  are  taught  in  the 
speculative  science  of  Masonry. 

The  interpretation,  I  conceive,  is  briefly  this :  Every 
Speculative  Mason  is  familiar  with  the  fact  that  the  east, 
as  the  source  of  material  light,  is  a  symbol  of  his  own 
order,  which  professes  to  contain  within  its  bosom  the 
pure  light  of  truth.  As,  in  the  physical  world,  the  morn 
ing  of  each  day  is  ushered  into  existence  by  the  reddening 
dawn  of  the  eastern  sky,  whence  the  rising  sun  dispenses 
his  illuminating  and  prolific  rays  to  every  portion  of  the 
visible  horizon,  warming  the  whole  earth  with  his  em 
brace  of  light,  and  giving  new-born  life  and  energy  to 
flower  and  tree,  and  beast  and  man,  who,  at  the  magic 
touch,  awake  from  the  sleep  of  darkness,  so  in  the 
moral  world,  when  intellectual  night  was,  in  the  earliest 
days,  brooding  over  the  wrorld,  it  was  from  the  ancient 
priesthood  living  in  the  east  that  those  lessons  of  God,  of 
nature,  and  of  humanity  first  emanated,  which,  travelling 
westward,  revealed  to  man  his  future  destiny,  and  his  de 
pendence  on  a  superior  power.  Thus  every  new  and  true 
doctrine,  coming  from  these  "  wise  men  of  the  east,"  was, 
as  it  were,  a  new  day  arising,  and  dissipating  the  clouds 
of  intellectual  darkness  and  error.  It  was  a  universal 
opinion  among  the  ancients  that  the  first  learning  came 

the  invincible  north-east  $oint,  feeding  on  water  and  air  till  his 
mortal  frame  totally  decay,  and  his  soul  become  united  with  the 
Supreme." 


SYMBOLISM    OF    THE    CORNER-STONE.  167 

from  the  east;  and  the  often-quoted  line  of  Bishop  Berke 
ley,  that  — 

"  Westward  the  course  of  empire  takes  its  way  "  — 

is  but  the  modern  utterance  of  an  ancient  thought,  for  it 
was  always  believed  that  the  empire  of  truth  and  knowl 
edge  was  advancing  from  the  east  to  the  west. 

Again  :  the  north,  as  the  point  in  the  horizon  which  is 
most  remote  from  the  vivifying  rays  of  the  sun  when  at 
his  meridian  height,  has,  with  equal  metaphorical  pro 
priety,  been  called  the  place  of  darkness,  and  is,  there 
fore,  symbolic  of  the  profane  world,  which  has  not  yet 
been  penetrated  and  illumined  by  the  intellectual  rays  of 
masonic  light.  All  history  concurs  in  recording  the  fact 
that,  in  the  early  ages  of  the  world,  its  northern  portion 
was  enveloped  in  the  most  profound  moral  and  mental 
darkness.  It  was  from  the  remotest  regions  of  Northern 
Europe  that  those  barbarian  hordes  "  came  down  like  the 
wolf  on  the  fold,"  and  devastated  the  fair  plains  of  the 
south,  bringing  with  them  a  dark  curtain  of  ignorance, 
beneath  whose  heavy  folds  the  nations  of  the  world  lay 
for  centuries  overwhelmed.  The  extreme  north  has  ever 
been,  physically  and  intellectually,  cold,  and  dark,  and 
dreary.  Hence,  in  Masonry,  the  north  has  ever  been 
esteemed  the  place  of  darkness  ;  and,  in  obedience  to  this 
principle,  no  symbolic  light  is  allowed  to  illumine  the 
northern  part  of  the  lodge. 

The  east,  then,  is,  in  Masonry,  the  symbol  of  the  order, 
and  the  north  the  symbol  of  the  profane  world. 

Now,  the  spiritual  corner-stone  is  deposited  in  the 
north-east  corner  of  the  lodge,  because  it  is  symbolic  of 
the  position  of  the  neophyte,  or  candidate,  who  represents 


l68  SYMBOLISM    OF    THE    CORNER-STONE. 

it  in  his  relation  to  the  order  and  to  the  world.  From 
the  profane  world  he  has  just  emerged.  Some  of  its 
imperfections  are  still  upon  him  ;  some  of  its  darkness  is 
still  about  him  ;  he  as  yet  belongs  in  part  to  the  north. 
But  he  is  striving  for  light  and  truth  ;  the  pathway  upon 
which  he  has  entered  is  directed  towards  the  east.  His 
allegiance,  if  I  may  use  the  word,  is  divided.  He  is  not 
altogether  a  profane,  nor  altogether  a  mason.  If  he  were 
wholly  in  the  world,  the  north  would  be  the  place  to  find 
him  —  the  north,  which  is  the  reign  of  darkness.  If  he 
were  wholly  in  the  order,  —  a  Master  Mason, —  the  east 
would  have  received  him  —  the  east,  which  is  the  place 
of  light.  But  he  is  neither  ;  he  is  an  Apprentice,  with 
some  of  the  ignorance  of  the  world  cleaving  to  him,  and 
some  of  the  light  of  the  order  beaming  upon  him.  And 
hence  this  divided  allegiance  —  this  double  character  — 
this  mingling  of  the  departing  darkness  of  the  north  with 
the  approaching  brightness  of  the  east  —  is  well  expressed, 
in  our  symbolism,  by  the  appropriate  position  of  the 
spiritual  corner-stone  in  the  north-east  corner  of  the  lodge. 
One  surface  of  the  stone  faces  the  north,  and  the  other 
surface  faces  the  east.  It  is  neither  wholly  in  the  one 
part  nor  wholly  in  the  other,  and  in  so  far  it  is  a  symbol 
of  initiation  not  fully  developed  —  that  which  is  incom 
plete  and  imperfect,  and  is,  therefore,  fitly  represented  by 
the  recipient  of  the  first  degree,  at  the  very  moment  of  his 
initiation.* 

*  This  symbolism  of  the  double  position  of  the  corner-stone  has 
not  escaped  the  attention  of  the  religious  symbologists.  Etsius, 
an  early  commentator,  in  1682,  referring  to  the  passage  in  Ephe- 
sians  ii.  20,  says,  "That  is  called  the  corner-stone,  or  chief 
corner-stone,  which  is  placed  in  the  extreme  angle  of  a  founda 
tion,  conjoining  and  holding  together  two  walls  of  the  pile,  meet- 


SYMBOLISM    OF    THE    CORNER-STONE.  169 

But  the  strength  and  durability  of  the  corner-stone  are 
also  eminently  suggestive  of  symbolic  ideas.  To  fulfil 
its  design  as  the  foundation  and  support  of  the  massive 
building  whose  erection  it  precedes,  it  should  be  con 
structed  of  a  material  which  may  outlast  all  other  parts 
of  the  edifice,  so  that  when  that  "  eternal  ocean  whose 
waves  are  years"  shall  have  ingulfed  all  who  were 
present  at  the  construction  of  the  building  in  the  vast 
vortex  of  its  ever-flowing  current ;  and  when  generation 
after  generation  shall  have  passed  away,  and  the  crum 
bling  stones  of  the  ruined  edifice  shall  begin  to  attest  the 
power  of  time  and  the  evanescent  nature  of  all  human 
undertakings,  the  corner-stone  will  still  remain  to  tell,  by 
its  inscriptions,  and  its  form,  and  its  beauty,  to  every 
passer-by,  that  there  once  existed  in  that,  perhaps  then 
desolate,  spot,  a  building  consecrated  to  some  noble  or 
some  sacred  purpose  by  the  zeal  and  liberality  of  men 
who  now  no  longer  live. 

So,  too,  do  this  permanence  and  durability  of  the 
corner-stone,  in  contrast  with  the  decay  and  ruin  of  the 
building  in  whose  foundations  it  was  placed,  remind  the 

ing  from  different  quarters.  And  the  apostle  not  only  would  be 
understood  by  this  metaphor  that  Christ  is  the  principal  founda 
tion  of  the  whole  church,  but  also  that  in  him,  as  in  a  corner 
stone,  the  two  peoples,  Jews  and  Gentiles,  are  conjoined,  and  so 
conjoined  as  to  rise  together  into  one  edifice,  and  become  one 
church."  And  Julius  Firmicius,  who  wrote  in  the  sixteenth 
century,  says  that  Christ  is  called  the  corner-stone,  because,  being 
placed  in  the  angle  of  the  two  walls,  which  are  the  Old  and  the 
New  Testament,  he  collects  the  nations  into  one  fold.  "  Lapis 
sanctus,  i.  e.  Christus,  aut  fidei  fundamenta  sustentat  aut  in 
angulo  positus  duorum  parietum  membra  sequata  moderatione 
conjungit,  i.  e.,  Veteris  et  Novi  Testament!  in  unum  colligit 
gentes."  —  De  Err  ore  prof  an.  Religiomim,  chap.  xxi. 


170  SYMBOLISM    OF    THE    CORNER-STONE. 

mason  that  when  this  earthly  house  of  his  tabernacle  shall 
have  passed  away,  he  has  within  him  a  sure  foundation 
of  eternal  life  —  a  corner-stone  of  immortality  —  an  ema 
nation  from  that  Divine  Spirit  which  pervades  all  nature, 
and  which,  therefore,  must  survive  the  tomb,  and  rise, 
triumphant  and  eternal,  above  the  decaying  dust  of  death 
and  the  grave.* 

It  is  in  this  way  that  the  student  of  masonic  symbolism 
is  reminded  by  the  corner-stone  —  by  its  form,  its  posi 
tion,  and  its  permanence  —  of  significant  doctrines  of 
duty,  and  virtue,  and  religious  truth,  which  it  is  the  great 
object  of  Masonry  to  teach. 

But  I  have  said  that  the  material  corner-stone  is  depos 
ited  in  its  appropriate  place  with  solemn  rites  and  cere 
monies,  for  which  the  order  has  established  a  peculiar 
ritual.  These,  too,  have  a  beautiful  and  significant  sym 
bolism,  the  investigation  of  which  will  next  attract  our 
attention. 

And  here  it  may  be  observed,  in  passing,  that  the 
accompaniment  of  such  an  act  of  consecration  to  a  par 
ticular  purpose,  with  solemn  rites  and  ceremonies,  claims 
our  respect,  from  the  prestige  that  it  has  of  all  antiquity. 

*  This  permanence  of  position  was  also  attributed  to  those 
cubical  stones  among  the  Romans  which  represented  the  statues 
of  the  god  Terminus.  They  could  never  lawfully  be  removed  from 
the  spot  which  they  occupied.  Hence,  when  Tarquin  was  about 
to  build  the  temple  of  Jupiter,  on  the  Capitoline  Hill,  all  the 
shrines  and  statues  of  the  other  gods  were  removed  from  the  emi 
nence  to  make  way  for  the  new  edifice,  except  that  of  Terminus, 
represented  by  a  stone.  This  remained  untouched,  and  was 
enclosed  within  the  temple,  to  show,  says  Dudley,  "that the  stone, 
having  been  a  personification  of  the  God  Supreme,  could  not  be 
reasonably  required  to  yield  to  Jupiter  himself  in  dignity  and 
power."  —  DUDLEY'S  Naology,  p.  145. 


SYMBOLISM    OF    THE    CORNER-STONE.  17! 

A  learned  writer  on  symbolism  makes,  on  this  subject, 
the  following  judicious  remarks,  which  may  be  quoted 
as  a  sufficient  defence  of  our  masonic  ceremonies  :  — 

"  It  has  been  an  opinion,  entertained  in  all  past  ages, 
that  by  the  performance  of  certain  acts,  things,  places, 
and  persons  acquire  a  character  which  they  would  not 
have  had  without  such  performances.  The  reason  is 
plain:  certain  acts  signify  firmness  of  purpose,  which, 
by  consigning  the  object  to  the  intended  use,  gives  it,  in 
the  public  opinion,  an  accordant  character.  This  is  most 
especially  true  of  things,  places,  and  persons  connected 
with  religion  and  religious  worship.  After  the  perform 
ance  of  certain  acts  or  rites,  they  are  held  to  be  altogether 
different  from  what  they  were  before  ;  they  acquire  a 
sacred  character,  and  in  some  instances  a  character  abso 
lutely  divine.  Such  are  the  effects  imagined  to  be  pro 
duced  by  religious  dedication."  * 

The  stone,  therefore,  thus  properly  constructed,  is, 
when  it  is  to  be  deposited  by  the  constituted  authorities 
of  our  order,  carefully  examined  with  the  necessary  im 
plements  of  operative  masonry,  —  the  square,  the  level, 
and  the  plumb,  —  and  declared  to  be  "  well-formed,  true, 
and  trusty."  This  is  not  a  vain  nor  unmeaning  ceremony. 
It  teaches  the  mason  that  his  virtues  are  to  be  tested  by 
temptation  and  trial,  by  suffering  and  adversity,  before 
they  can  be  pronounced  by  the  Master  Builder  of  souls 
to  be  materials  worthy  of  the  spiritual  building  of  eternal 
life,  fitted  "  as  living  stones,  for  that  house  not  made  with 
hands,  eternal  in  the  heavens."  But  if  he  be  faithful,  and 
withstand  these  trials,  —  if  he  shall  come  forth  from  these 

*  Dudley's  Naologj,  p.  476. 


172  SYMBOLISM    OF   THE    CORNER-STONE. 

temptations  and  sufferings  like  pure  gold  from  the  refi 
ner's  fire,  —  then,  indeed,  shall  he  be  deemed  "•  well-formed, 
true,  and  trusty,"  and  worthy  to  offer  "  unto  the  Lord  an 
offering  in  righteousness." 

In  the  ceremony  of  depositing  the  corner-stone,  the 
sacred  elements  of  masonic  consecration  are  then  pro 
duced,  and  the  stone  is  solemnly  set  apart  by  pouring 
corn,  wine,  and  oil  upon  its  surface.  Each  of  these  ele 
ments  has  a  beautiful  significance  in  our  symbolism. 

Collectively,  they  allude  to  the  Corn  of  Nourishment, 
the  Wine  of  Refreshment,  and  the  Oil  of  Joy,  which  are 
the  promised  rewards  of  a  faithful  and  diligent  perform 
ance  of  duty,  and  often  specifically  refer  to  the  anticipated 
success  of  the  undertaking  whose  incipiency  they  have 
consecrated.  They  are,  in  fact,  types  and  symbols  of  all 
those  abundant  gifts  of  Divine  Providence  for  which  we 
are  daily  called  upon  to  make  an  offering  of  our  thanks, 
and  which  are  enumerated  by  King  David,  in  his  cata 
logue  of  blessings,  as  "  wine  that  maketh  glad  the  heart 
of  man,  and  oil  to  make  his  face  to  shine,  and  bread  which 
strengthened!  man's  heart." 

"  Wherefore,  my  brethren,"  says  Harris,  "  do  you  carry 
corn,  wine,  and  oil  in  your  processions,  but  to  remind  you 
that  in  the  pilgrimage  of  human  life  you  are  to  impart  a 
portion  of  your  bread  to  feed  the  hungry,  to  send  a  cup 
of  your  wine  to  cheer  the  sorrowful,  and  to  pour  the  heal 
ing  oil  of  your  consolation  into  the  wounds  which  sickness 
hath  made  in  the  bodies,  or  affliction  rent  in  the  hearts,  of 
your  fellow-travellers  ?  "  * 

But,  individually,  each  of  these  elements  of  consecration 

*  Masonic  Discourses,  Dis.  iv.  p.  81. 


SYMBOLISM    OF    THE    CORNER-STONE.  173 

has  also  an  appropriate  significance,  which  is  well  worth 
investigation. 

Corn,  in  the  language  of  Scripture,  is  an  emblem  of 
the  resurrection,  and  St.  Paul,  in  that  eloquent  discourse 
which  is  so  familiar  to  all,  as  a  beautiful  argument  for  the 
great  Christian  doctrine  of  a  future  life,  adduces  the  seed 
of  grain,  which,  being  sown,  first  dieth,  and  then  quick- 
eneth,  as  the  appropriate  type  of  that  corruptible  which 
must  put  on  incorruption,  and  of  that  mortal  which  must 
assume  immortality.  But,  in  Masonry,  the  sprig  of  acacia, 
for  reasons  purely  masonic,  has  been  always  adopted  as 
the  symbol  of  immortality,  and  the  ear  of  corn  is  appro 
priated  as  the  symbol  of  plenty.  This  is  in  accordance 
with  the  Hebrew  derivation  of  the  word,  as  well  as  with 
the  usage  of  all  ancient  nations.  The  word  dagan,  pi, 
which  signifies  corn,  is  derived  from  the  verb  dagah, 
nai,  to  increase,  to  multiply,  and  in  all  the  ancient  reli 
gions  the  horn  or  vase,  filled  with  fruits  and  with  grain, 
was  the  recognized  symbol  of  plenty.  Hence,  as  an  ele 
ment  of  consecration,  corn  is  intended  to  remind  us  of 
those  temporal  blessings  of  life  and  health,  and  comforta 
ble  support,  which  we  derive  from  the  Giver  of  all  good, 
and  to  merit  which  we  should  strive,  with  "  clean  hands 
and  a  pure  heart,"  to  erect  on  the  corner-stone  of  our 
initiation  a  spiritual  temple,  which  shall  be  adorned  with 
the  "beauty  of  holiness." 

Wine  is  a  symbol  of  that  inward  and  abiding  comfort 
with  which  the  heart  of  the  man  who  faithfully  performs 
his  part  on  the  great  stage  of  life  is  to  be  refreshed  ;  and 
as,  in  the  figurative  language  of  the  East,  Jacob  propheti 
cally  promises  to  Judah,  as  his  reward,  that  he  shall  wash 
his  garments  in  wine,  and  his  clothes  in  the  blood  of  the 


174  SYMBOLISM    OF   THE    CORNER-STONE. 

grape,  it  seems  intended,  morally,  to  remind  us  of  those 
immortal  refreshments  which,  when  the  labors  of  this 
earthly  lodge  are  forever  closed,  we  shall  receive  in  the 
celestial  lodge  above,  where  the  G.  A.  O.  T.  U.  forever 
presides. 

Oil  is  a  symbol  of  prosperity,  and  happiness,  and  joy. 
The  custom  of  anointing  every  thing  or  person  destined 
for  a  sacred  purpose  is  of  venerable  antiquity.*  The 
statues  of  the  heathen  deities,  as  well  as  the  altars  on 
which  the  sacrifices  were  offered  to  them,  and  the  priests 
who  presided  over  the  sacred  rites,  were  always  anointed 
with  perfumed  ointment,  as  a  consecration  of  them  to  the 
objects  of  religious  wrorship. 

When  Jacob  set  up  the  stone  on  which  he  had  slept  in 
his  journey  to  Padan-aram,  and  where  he  was  blessed 
with  the  vision  of  ascending  and  descending  angels,  he 
anointed  it  with  oil,  and  thus  consecrated  it  as  an  altar 
to  God.  Such  an  inunction  was,  in  ancient  times,  as  it 
still  continues  to  be  in  many  modern  countries  and  con 
temporary  religions,  a  symbol  of  the  setting  apart  of  the 
thing  or  person  so  anointed  and  consecrated  to  a  holy 
purpose. 

*  "  The  act  of  consecration  chiefly  consisted  in  the  unction, 
which  was  a  ceremony  derived  from  the  most  primitive  antiquity. 
The  sacred  tabernacle,  with  all  the  vessels  and  utensils,  as  also  the 
altar  and  the  priests  themselves,  were  consecrated  in  this  manner 
by  Moses,  at  the  divine  command.  It  is  well  known  that  the 
Jewish  kings  and  prophets  were  admitted  to  their  several  offices  by 
unction.  The  patriarch  Jacob,  by  the  same  right,  consecrated  the 
altars  which  he  made  use  of;  in  doing  which  it  is  more  probable 
that  he  followed  the  tradition  of  his  forefathers,  than  that  he  was 
the  author  of  this  custom.  The  same,  or  something  like  it,  was 
also  continued  down  to  the  times  of  Christianity."  —  POTTER'S 
ArchfEologia  Grceca^  b.  ii.  p.  176. 


SYMBOLISM    OF    THE    CORNER-STONE.  175 

Hence,  then,  we  are  reminded  by  this  last  impressive 
ceremony,  that  the  cultivation  of  virtue,  the  practice  of 
duty,  the  resistance  of  temptation,  the  submission  to 
suffering,  the  devotion  to  truth,  the  maintenance  of 
integrity,  and  all  those  other  graces  by  which  we  strive 
to  fit  our  bodies,  as  living  stones,  for  the  spiritual  build 
ing  of  eternal  life,  must,  after  all,  to  make  the  object 
effectual  and  the  labor  successful,  be  consecrated  by  a 
holy  obedience  to  God's  will  and  a  firm  reliance  on  God's 
providence,  which  alone  constitute  the  chief  corner-stone 
and  sure  foundation,  on  which  any  man  can  build  with 
the  reasonable  hope  of  a  prosperous  issue  to  his  work. 

It  may  be  noticed,  in  concluding  this  topic,  that  the 
corner-stone  seems  to  be  peculiarly  a  Jewish  symbol.  I 
can  find  no  reference  to  it  in  any  of  the  ancient  pagan 
rites,  and  the  EBEN  PINAH,  the  corner-stone,  which 
is  so  frequently  mentioned  in  Scripture  as  the  emblem  of 
an  important  personage,  and  most  usually,  in  the  Old 
Testament,  of  the  expected  Messiah,  appears,  in  its  use 
in  Masonry,  to  have  had,  unlike  almost  every  other  sym 
bol  of  the  order,  an  exclusively  temple  origin. 


XXIV. 

THE   INEFFABLE   NAME. 

NOTHER  important  symbol  is  the  Ineffable 
Name,  with  which  the  series  of  ritualistic  sym- 
bols  will  be  concluded. 

The  Tetragrammaton,*  or  Ineffable  Word, — 
the  Incommunicable  Name,  —  is  a  symbol  —  for  rightly 
considered  it  is  nothing  more  than  a  symbol  —  that  has 
more  than  any  other  (except,  perhaps,  the  symbols  con 
nected  with  sun-worship),  pervaded  the  rites  of  antiquity. 
I  know,  indeed,  of  no  system  of  ancient  initiation  in  which 
it  has  not  some  prominent  form  and  place. 

But  as  it  was,  perhaps,  the  earliest  symbol  which  was 
corrupted  by  the  spurious  Freemasonry  of  the  pagans,  in 


*  From  the  Greek  TSTQ&S,  four,  and  ygdpfia,  letter,  because  it  is 
composed  of  four  Hebrew  letters.  Brande  thus  defines  it: 
"Among  several  ancient  nations,  the  name  of  the  mystic  num 
ber  four,  which  was  often  symbolized  to  represent  the  Deitv, 
whose  name  was  expressed  by  four  letters."  But  this  definition  is 
incorrect.  The  tetragrammaton  is  not  the  name  of  the  number 
four,  but  the  word  which  expresses  the  name  of  God  in  four  let 
ters,  and  is  always  applied  to  the  Hebrew  word  only. 

170 


THE    INEFFABLE    NAME.  1 77 

their  secession  from  the  primitive  system  of  the  patriarchs 
and  ancient  priesthood,  it  will  be  most  expedient  for  the 
thorough  discussion  of  the  subject  which  is  proposed  in 
the  present  paper,  that  we  should  begin  the  investigation 
with  an  inquiry  into  the  nature  of  the  symbol  among  the 
Israelites. 

That  name  of  God,  which  we,  at  a  venture,  pronounce 
Jehovah,  —  although  whether  this  is,  or  is  not,  the  true 
pronunciation  can  now  never  be  authoritatively  settled,  — 
was  ever  held  by  the  Jews  in  the  most  profound  venera 
tion.  They  derived  its  origin  from  the  immediate  inspira 
tion  of  the  Almighty,  who  communicated  it  to  Moses  as 
his  especial  appellation,  to  be  used  only  by  his  chosen 
people  ;  and  this  communication  was  made  at  the  Burning 
Bush,  wrhen  he  said  to  him,  "Thus  shalt  thou  say  unto 
the  children  of  Israel :  Jehovah,  the  God  of  your  fathers, 
the  God  of  Abraham,  the  God  of  Isaac,  and  the  God  of 
Jacob,  hath  sent  me  unto  you:  this  [Jehovah]  is  my 
name  forever,  and  this  is  my  memorial  unto  all  genera 
tions."  *  And  at  a  subsequent  period  he  still  more  em 
phatically  declared  this  to  be  his  peculiar  name  :  "  I  am 
Jehovah;  and  I  appeared  unto  Abraham,  unto  Isaac,  and 
unto  Jacob,  by  the  name  of  El  Shaddai;  but  by  my  name 
Jehovah  was  I  not  known  unto  them."  f 

It  will  be  perceived  that  I  have  not  here  followed  pre 
cisely  the  somewhat  unsatisfactory  version  of  King  James's 
Bible,  which,  by  translating  or  anglicizing  one  name,  and 
not  the  other,  leaves  the  whole  passage  less  intelligible 

*  Exod.  iii.  15.  In  our  common  version  of  the  Bible,  the  word 
"Lord  "  is  substituted  for  "Jehovah,"  whence  the  true  import  of 
the  original  is  lost. 

t  Exod.  vi.  2,  3. 

12 


178  THE    INEFFABLE    NAME. 

and  impressive  than  it  should  be.  I  have  retained  the 
original  Hebrew  for  both  names.  El  Shaddai,  "  the 
Almighty  One,"  was  the  name  by  which  he  had  been 
heretofore  known  to  the  preceding  patriarchs ;  in  its 
meaning  it  was  analogous  to  Elohim,  who  is  described 
in  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis  as  creating  the  world. 
But  his  name  of  Jehovah  was  now  for  the  first  time  to 
be  communicated  to  his  people. 

Ushered  to  their  notice  with  all  the  solemnity  and  re 
ligious  consecration  of  these  scenes  and  events,  this  name 
of  God  became  invested  among  the  Israelites  with  the 
profoundest  veneration  and  awe.  To  add  to  this  mysti 
cism,  the  Cabalists,  by  the  change  of  a  single  letter,  read 
the  passage,  u  This  is  my  name  forever,"  or,  as  it  is  in  the 
original,  Zch  she?ni  Volam,  tsb^b  "'fc'O  »7h  as  if  written 
Zeh  sJicmi  Valam,  n^b  ^ftw  ntj  tnat  is  to  sayi  "  This  is 
my  name  to  be  concealed." 

This  interpretation,  although  founded  on  a  blunder,  and 
in  all  probability  an  intentional  one,  soon  became  a  pre 
cept,  and  has  been  strictly  obeyed  to  this  day.*  The 

*  "  The  Jews  have  many  superstitious  stories  and  opinions  rela 
tive  to  this  name,  which,  because  they  were  forbidden  to  mention 
in  vain,  they  would  not  mention  at  all.  They  substituted  Adonai, 
&c.,  in  its  room,  whenever  it  occurred  to  them  in  reading  or 
speaking,  or  else  simply  and  emphatically  styled  it  Q'^fi,  the  Name. 
Some  of  them  attributed  to  a  certain  repetition  of  this  name  the 
virtue  of  a  charm,  and  others  have  had  the  boldness  to  assert  that 
our  blessed  Savior  wrought  all  his  miracles  (for  they  do  not  deny 
them  to  be  such)  by  that  mystical  use  of  this  venerable  name.  See 
the  Toldoth  Jestim,  an  infamously  scurrilous  life  of  Jesus,  written 
by  a  Jew  not  later  than  the  thirteenth  century.  On  p.  7,  edition 
of  Wagenseilius,  1681,  is  a  succinct  detail  of  the  manner  in  which 
our  Savior  is  said  to  have  entered  the  temple  and  obtained  posses 
sion  of  the  Holy  Name.  Leusden  says  that  he  had  offered  to  give 
a  sum  of  money  to  a  very  poor  Jew  at  Amsterdam,  if  he  would 


THE    INEFFABLE    NAME.  179 

word  Jehovah  is  never  pronounced  by  a  pious  Jew,  who, 
whenever  he  meets  with  it  in  Scripture,  substitutes  for  it 
the  word  Adonai  or  Lord —  a  practice  which  has  been  fol 
lowed  by  the  translators  of  the  common  English  version 
of  the  Bible  with  almost  Jewish  scrupulosity,  the  word 
"  Jehovah  "  in  the  original  being  invariably  translated  by 
the  word  "Lord."*  The  pronunciation  of  the  word, 
being  thus  abandoned,  became  ultimately  lost,  as,  by  the 
peculiar  construction  of  the  Hebrew  language,  which  is 
entirely  without  vowels,  the  letters,  being  all  consonants, 
can  give  no  possible  indication,  to  one  who  has  not  heard 
it  before,  of  the  true  pronunciation  of  any  given  word. 

To  make  this  subject  plainer  to  the  reader  who  is  un 
acquainted  with  the  Hebrew,  I  will  venture  to  furnish  an 
explanation  which  will,  perhaps,  be  intelligible. 

The  Hebrew  alphabet  consists  entirely  of  consonants, 
the  vowel  sounds  having  always  been  inserted  orally,  and 
never  marked  in  writing  until  the  "  vowel  points,"  as  they 
are  called,  were  invented  by  the  Masorites,  some  six  cen 
turies  after  the  Christian  era.  As  the  vowel  sounds  were 
originally  supplied  by  the  reader,  while  reading,  from  a 

only  once  deliberately  pronounce  the  name  Jehovah ;  but  he  re 
fused  it  by  saying  that  he  did  not  dare."  —  Hor<z  Solitarice,  vol.  i. 
p.  3.  —  "A  Brahmin  will  not  pronounce  the  name  of  the  Almighty, 
without  drawing  down  his  sleeve  and  placing  it  on  his  mouth  with 
fear  and  trembling."  —  MURRAY,  Truth  of  Revelation,  p.  321. 

*  The  same  scrupulous  avoidance  of  a  strict  translation  has  been 
pursued  in  other  versions.  For  Jehovah,  the  Septuagint  sub 
stitutes  "  KVQIOS,"  the  Vulgate  "  Dominus,"  and  the  German  "  der 
Herr,"  all  equivalent  to  "the  Lord."  The  French  version  uses  the 
title  "  1'Eternel."  But,  with  a  better  comprehension  of  the  value 
of  the  word,  Lowth  in  his  "Isaiah, "the  Swedenborgian  version  of 
the  Psalms,  and  sqme  other  recent  versions,  have  restored  the 
original  name. 


I  So  THE    INEFFABLE    NAME. 

knowledge  which  he  had  previously  received,  by  means 
of  oral  instruction,  of  the  proper  pronunciation  of  the 
word,  he  was  necessarily  unable  to  pronounce  any  word 
which  had  never  before  been  uttered  in  his  presence.  As 
we  know  that  Dr.  is  to  be  pronounced  Doctor,  and  Mr. 
Mister,  because  we  have  always  heard  those  peculiar 
combinations  of  letters  thus  enunciated,  and  not  because 
the  letters  themselves  give  any  such  sound  ;  so  the  Jew 
knew  from  instruction  and  constant  practice,  and  not 
from  the  power  of  the  letters,  how  the  consonants  in  the 
different  words  in  daily  use  were  to  be  vocalized.  But  as 
the  four  letters  which  compose  the  word  Jehovah,  as  we 
now  call  it,  were  never  pronounced  in  his  presence,  but 
were  made  to  represent  another  word,  Adonai,  which  was 
substituted  for  it,  and  as  the  combination  of  these  four 
consonants  would  give  no  more  indication  for  any  sort  of 
enunciation  than  the  combinations  Dr.  or  Mr.  give  in  pur 
language,  the  Jew,  being  ignorant  of  what  vocal  sounds 
were  to  be  supplied,  was  unable  to  pronounce  the  word, 
so  that  its  true  pronunciation  was  in  time  lost  to  the  masses 
of  the  people. 

There  was  one  person,  however,  who,  it  is  said,  was  in 
possession  of  the  proper  sound  of  the  letters  and  the  true 
pronunciation  of  the  word.  This  was  the  high  priest, 
who,  receiving  it  from  his  predecessor,  preserved  the 
recollection  of  the  sound  by  pronouncing  it  three  times, 
once  a  year,  on  the  day  of  the  atonement,  when  he  en 
tered  the  holy  of  holies  of  the  tabernacle  or  the  temple. 

If  the  traditions  of  Masonry  on  this  subject  are  correct, 
the  kings,  after  the  establishment  of  the  monarchy,  must 
have  participated  in  this  privilege  ;  for  Solomon  is  said  to 
have  been  in  possession  of  the  word,  and  to  have  com- 


THE    INEFFABLE    NAME.  l8l 

municated  it  to  his  two  colleagues  at  the  building  of  the 
temple. 

This  is  the  word  which,  from  the  number  of  its  letters, 
was  called  the  "  tetragrammaton,"  or  four-lettered  name, 
and,  from  its  sacred  inviolability,  the  "  ineffable  "  or  unut 
terable  name. 

The  Cabalists  and  Talmudists  have  enveloped  it  in  a 
host  of  mystical  superstitions,  most  of  which  are  as  absurd 
as  they  are  incredible,  but  all  of  them  tending  to  show  the 
great  veneration  that  has  always  been  paid  to  it.*  Thus 
they  say  that  it  is  possessed  of  unlimited  powers,  and  that 
he  who  pronounces  it  shakes  heaven  and  earth,  and  in 
spires  the  very  angels  with  terror  and  astonishment. 

The  Rabbins  called  it  "  shem  hamphorash,"  that  is  to 
say,  "  the  name  that  is  declaratory,"  and  they  say  that 
David  found  it  engraved  on  a  stone  while  digging  into 
the  earth. 

From  the  sacredness  with  which  the  name  was  vener 
ated,  it  was  seldom,  if  ever,  written  in  full,  and,  conse 
quently,  a  great  many  symbols,  or  hieroglyphics,  were 
invented  to  express  it.  One  of  these  was  the  letter  i,  or 
Tod,  equivalent  nearly  to  the  English  I,  or  J,  or  Y,  which 
was  the  initial  of  the  word,  and  it  was  often  in 
scribed  within  an  equilateral  triangle,  thus : 
the  triangle  itself  being  a  symbol  of  Deity. 

*  In  the  Talmudical  treatise,  Majan  Hachochima,  quoted  by 
Stephelin  (Rabbinical  Literature,  i.  p.  131),  we  are  informed  that 
rightly  to  understand  the  shem  hamphorash  is  a  key  to  the  un 
locking  of  all  mysteries.  "  There,"  says  the  treatise,  "  shalt  thou 
understand  the  words  of  men,  the  words  of  cattle,  the  singing  of 
birds,  the  language  of  beasts,  the  barking  of  dogs,  the  language  of 
devils,  the  language  of  ministering  angels,  the  language  of  date- 
trees,  the  motion  of  the  sea,  the  unity  of  hearts,  and  the  murmur 
ing  of  the  tongue  —  nay,  even  the  thoughts  of  the  reins." 


1 82  THE    INEFFABLE    NAME. 

This  symbol  of  the  name  of  God  is  peculiarly  worthy 
of  our  attention,  since  not  only  is  the  triangle  to  be  found 
in  many  of  the  ancient  religions  occupying  the  same  posi 
tion,  but  the  whole  symbol  itself  is  undoubtedly  the  origin 
of  that  hieroglyphic  exhibited  in  the  second  degree  of 
Masonry,  where,  the  explanation  of  the  symbolism  being 
the  same,  the  form  of  it,  as  far  as  it  respects  the  letter,  has 
only  been  anglicized  by  modern  innovators.  In  my  own 
opinion,  the  letter  G,  which  is  used  in  the  Fellow  Craft's 
degree,  should  never  have  been  permitted  to  intrude  into 
Masonry  ;  it  presents  an  instance  of  absurd  anachronism, 
which  would  never  have  occurred  if  the  original  Hebrew 
symbol  had  been  retained.  But  being  there  now,  without 
the  possibility  of  removal,  we  have  only  to  remember  that 
it  is  in  fact  but  the  symbol  of  a  symbol.* 

Widely  spread,  as  1  have  already  said,  was  this  rever 
ence  for  the  name  of  God  ;  and,  consequently,  its  symbol 
ism,  in  some  peculiar  form,  is  to  be  found  in  all  the  ancient 
rites. 

Thus  the  Ineffable  Name  itself,  of  which  we  have  been 
discoursing,  is  said  to  have  been  preserved  in  its  true  pro 
nunciation  by  the  Essenes,  who,  in  their  secret  rites,  com 
municated  it  to  each  other  only  in  a  whisper,  and  in 
such  form,  that  while  its  component  parts  were  known, 
they  were  so  separated  as  to  make  the  whole  word  a  mys 
tery. 

Among  the  Egyptians,  whose  connection  with  the  He 
brews  was  more  immediate  than  that  of  any  other  people, 
and  where,  consequently,  there  was  a  g'reater  similarity 
of  rites,  the  same  sacred  name  is  said  to  have  been  used 

*  The  gamma,  F,  or  Greek  letter  G,  is  said  to  have  been  sacred 
among  the  Pythagoreans  as  the  initial  of  7"ea>(U£7£/a  or  Geometry. 


THE   INEFFABLE    NAME.  183 

as  a  password,  for  the  purpose  of  gaining  admission  to 
their  Mysteries. 

In  the  Brahminic  Mysteries  of  Hindostan  the  ceremony 
of  initiation  was  terminated  by  intrusting  the  aspirant 
with  the  sacred,  triliteral  name,  which  was  AUM,  the 
three  letters  of  which  were  symbolic  of  the  creative,  pre 
servative,  and  destructive  principles  of  the  Supreme  Deity, 
personified  in  the  three  manifestations  of  Bramah,  Siva, 
and  Vishnu.  This  word  was  forbidden  to  be  pronounced 
aloud.  It  was  to  be  the  subject  of  silent  meditation  to  the 
pious  Hindoo. 

In  the  rites  of  Persia  an  ineffable  name  was  also  com 
municated  to  the  candidate  after  his  initiation.*  Mithras, 
the  principal  divinity  in  these  rites,  who  took  the  place 
of  the  Hebrew  Jehovah,  and  represented  the  sun,  had 
this  peculiarity  in  his  name — that  the  numeral  value  of 
the  letters  of  which  it  was  composed  amounted  to  pre 
cisely  365,  the  number  of  days  which  constitute  a  revolu 
tion  of  the  earth  around  the  sun,  or,  as  they  then  supposed, 
of  the  sun  around  the  earth. 

In  the  Mysteries  introduced  by  Pythagoras  into  Greece 
we  again  find  the  ineffable  name  of  the  Hebrews,  obtained 
doubtless  by  the  Samian  Sage  during  his  visit  to  Baby- 
lon.f  The  symbol  adopted  by  him  to  express  it  was, 

*  Vide  Oliver,  Hist.  Init.  p.  68,  note. 

f  Jamblichus  says  that  Pythagoras  passed  over  from  Miletus  to 
Sidon,  thinking  that  he  could  thence  go  more  easily  into  Egypt, 
and  that  while  there  he  caused  himself  to  be  initiated  into  all  the 
mysteries  of  Byblos  and  Tyre,  and  those  which  were  practised  in 
many  parts  of  Syria,  not  because  he  was  under  the  influence  of  any 
superstitious  motives,  but  from  the  fear  that  if  he  were  not  to  avail 
himself  of  these  opportunities,  he  might  neglect  to  acquire  some 
knowledge  in  those  rites  which  was  worthy  of  observation.  But 


184  THE    INEFFABLE    NAME. 

however,  somewhat  different,  being  ten  points  distributed 
in  the  form  of  a  triangle,  each  side  containing  four  points, 
as  in  the  annexed  figure. 

•  The  apex  of  the  triangle  was  consequently 

•     •  a     single     point   then    followed    below    two 

•  •     •         others,  then  three  ;  and  lastly,  the  base  con- 
•     •     •     •     sisted   of  four.     These  points  were,  by  the 
number    in   each    rank,    intended,   according    to   the  Py 
thagorean   system,  to  denote  respectively  the  monad,  or 
active  principle  of  nature  ;  the  duad,  or  passive  principle  ; 
the  triad,  or  world  emanating  from  their  union  ;  and  the 
quaterniad,   or  intellectual   science  ;   the  whole  number 
of  points  amounting  to  ten,  the  symbol  of  perfection  and 
consummation.      This  figure  was  called  by  Pythagoras 
the  tetractys  —  a  word  equivalent  in  signification  to  the 
tetragrammaton;   and  it  was  deemed  so  sacred  that  on  it 
the  oath  of  secrecy  and  fidelity  was   administered  to  the 
aspirants  in  the  Pythagorean  rites.* 

Among  the  Scandinavians,  as  among  the  Jewish 
Cabalists,  the  Supreme  God  who  was  made  known  in 
their  mysteries  had  twelve  names,  of  which  the  princi 
pal  and  most  sacred  one  was  Alfader,  the  Universal 
Father. 

as  these  mysteries  were  originally  received  by  the  Phoenicians  from 
Egypt?  he  passed  over  into  that  country,  where  he  remained 
twenty-two  years,  occupying  himself  in  the  study  of  geometry, 
astronomy,  and  all  the  initiations  of  the  gods  (n&aa$  6t(bv  TfAerdc), 
until  he  was  carried  a  captive  into  Babylon  by  the  soldiers  of 
Cambyses,  and  that  twelve  years  afterwards  he  returned  to  Samos 
at  the  age  of  sixty  years.  — Vit.  Pythag.  cap.  iii.,  iv. 

*  "  The  sacred  words  were  intrusted  to  him,  of  which  the  In 
effable  Tetractys,  or  name  of  God,  was  the  chief." —  OLIVER,  Hist. 
Init.  p.  109. 


THE    INEFFABLE    NAME.  lb*5 

Among  the  Druids,  the  sacred  name  of  God  was  Hu  * 
—  a  name  which,  although  it  is  supposed,  by  Bryant,  to 
have  been  intended  by  them  for  Noah,  will  be  recognized 
as  one  of  the  modifications  of  the  Hebrew  tetragrammaton. 
It  is,  in  fact,  the  masculine  pronoun  in  Hebrew,  and  may 
be  considered  as  the  symbolization  of  the  male  or  gener 
ative  principle  in  nature  —  a  sort  of  modification  of  the 
system  of  Phallic  worship. 

This  sacred  name  among  the  Druids  reminds  me  of 
what  is  the  latest,  and  undoubtedly  the  most  philosophi 
cal,  speculation  on  the  true  meaning,  as  well  as  pronun 
ciation,  of  the  ineffable  tetragrammaton.  It  is  from  the 
ingenious  mind  of  the  celebrated  Land  ;  and  I  have 
already,  in  another  work,  given  it  to  the  public  as  I 
received  it  from  his  pupil,  and  my  friend,  Mr.  Gliddon, 
the  distinguished  archaeologist.  But  the  results  are  too 
curious  to  be  omitted  whenever  the  tetragrammaton  is 
discussed. 

Elsewhere  I  have  very  fully  alluded  to  the  prevailing 
sentiment  among  the  ancients,  that  the  Supreme  Deity 
was  bisexual,  or  hermaphrodite,  including  in  the  essence 
of  his  being  the  male  and  female  principles,  the  generative 
and  prolific  powers  of  nature.  This  was  the  universal 
doctrine  in  all  the  ancient  religions,  and  was  very  naturally 
developed  in  the  symbol  of  the  phalhis  and  cteis  among 
the  Greeks,  and  in  the  corresponding  one  of  the  lingam 

*  "  IIu,  the  mighty,  whose  history  as  a  patriarch  is  precisely 
that  of  Noah,  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  the  principal  demon- 
god  among  the  Britons;  and,  as  his  chariot  was  composed  of  rays 
of  the  sun,  it  may  be  presumed  that  he  was  worshipped  in  conjunc 
tion  with  that  luminary,  and  to  the  same  superstition  we  may  refer 
what  is  said  of  his  light  and  swift  course."  —  DAVIES,  Mythol.  and 
Rites  of  the  Brit.  Druids,  p.  no. 


1 86  THE    INEFFABLE    NAME. 

and  yoni  among  the  Orientalists  ;  from  which  symbols 
the  masonic  point  'within  a  circle  is  a  legitimate  deriva 
tion.  They  all  taught  that  God,  the  Creator,  was  both 
male  and  female. 

Now,  this  theory  is  undoubtedly  unobjectionable  on  the 
score  of  orthodoxy,  if  we  view  it  in  the  spiritual  sense,  in 
which  its  first  propounders  must  necessarily  have  intended 
it  to  be  presented  to  the  mind,  and  not  in  the  gross, 
sensual  meaning  in  which  it  was  subsequently  received. 
For,  taking  the  word  sex,  not  in  its  ordinary  and  collo 
quial  signification,  as  denoting  the  indication  of  a  partic 
ular  physical  organization,  but  in  that  purely  philosophical 
one  which  alone  can  be  used  in  such  a  connection,  and 
which  simply  signifies  the  mere  manifestation  of  a  power, 
it  is  not  to  be  denied  that  the  Supreme  Being  must  pos 
sess  in  himself,  and  in  himself  alone,  both  a  generative 
and  a  prolific  power.  This  idea,  which  was  so  exten 
sively  prevalent  among  all  the  nations  of  antiquity,*  has 
also  been  traced  in  the  tetragrammaton,  or  name  of 
Jehovah,  with  singular  ingenuity,  by  Lanci ;  and,  what 
is  almost  equally  as  interesting,  he  has,  by  this  discovery, 
been  enabled  to  demonstrate  what  was,  in  all  probability, 
the  true  pronunciation  of  the  word. 

In  giving  the  details  of  this  philological  discovery,  I 
will  endeavor  to  make  it  as  comprehensible  as  it  can  be 
made  to  those  who  are  not  critically  acquainted  with  the 

*  "  All  the  male  gods  (of  the  ancients)  may  be  reduced  to  one, 
the  generative  energy;  and  all  the  female  to  one,  the  prolific 
principle.  In  fact,  they  may  all  be  included  in  the  one  great  Her 
maphrodite,  the  &Q<}Ei>odi]kvg,  who  combines  in  his  nature  all  the 
elements  of  production,  and  who  continues  to  support  the  vast 
creation  which  originally  proceeded  from  his  will."  —  RUSSELL'S 
Connection,  i.  p.  402. 


THE    INEFFABLE    NAME.  1 8? 

construction  of  the  Hebrew  language ;  those  who  are 
will  at  once  appreciate  its  peculiar  character,  and  will 
excuse  the  explanatory  details,  of  course  unnecessary  to 
them. 

The  ineffable  name,  the  tetragrammaton,  the  shem 
hamphorash,  —  for  it  is  known  by  all  these  appellations,  — 
consists  of  four  letters,  yod,  heh,  zj<2z/,'and  heh,  forming 
the  word  mnx  This  word,  of  course,  in  accordance  with 
the  genius  of  the  Hebrew  language,  is  read,  as  we  would 
say,  backward,  or  from  right  to  left,  beginning  \\\\h  yod 
[V],  and  ending  with  heh  [n]. 

Of  these  letters,  the  first,  yod  [i],  is  equivalent  to  the 
English  i  pronounced  as  e  in  the  word  machine. 

The  second  and  fourth  letter,  heh  [n],  is  an  aspirate, 
and  has  here  the  sound  of  the  English  h. 

And  the  third  letter,  vau  [l],  has  the  sound  of  open  o. 

Now,  reading  these  four  letters,  %  or  I,  n,  or  H,  i,  or  O, 
and  n,  or  H,  as  the  Hebrew  requires,  from  right  to  left, 
we  have  the  word  JTirP,  equivalent  in  English  to  IH-OH, 
which  is  really  as  near  to  the  pronunciation  as  we  can 
W7ell  come,  notwithstanding  it  forms  neither  of  the  seven 
ways  in  which  the  word  is  said  to  have  been  pronounced, 
at  different  times,  by  the  patriarchs.* 

But,  thus  pronounced,  the  word  gives  us  no  meaning, 
for  there  is  no  such  word  in  Hebrew  as  ihohj  and,  as  all 
the  Hebrew  names  were  significative  of  something,  it  is 
but  fair  to  conclude  that  this  was  not  the  original  pronun- 

*  It  is  a  tradition  that  it  was  pronounced  in  the  following  seven 
different  ways  by  the  patriarchs,  from  Methuselah  to  David,  viz.  : 
Juha,  Jena,  Jova,  Jevo,  jfcve/t,  Joke,  and  Jehovah.  In  all 
these  words  the  j  is  to  he  pronounced  as  j,  the  a  as  a/i,  the  c  as  a, 
and  the  v  as  iv. 


1 88  THE    INEFFABLE    NAME. 

ciation,  and  that  we  must  look  for  another  which  will 
give  a  meaning  to  the  word.  Now,  Land  proceeds  to 
the  discovery  of  this  true  pronunciation,  as  follows  :  — 

In  the  Cabala,  a  hidden  meaning  is  often  deduced 
from  a  word  by  transposing  or  reversing  its  letters,  and 
it  was  in  this  way  that  the  Cabalists  concealed  many  of 
their  mysteries. 

Now,  to  reverse  a  word  in  English  is  to  read  its  letters 
from  right  to  left,  because  our  normal  mode  of  reading 
is  from  left  to  right.  But  in  Hebrew  the  contrary  rule 
takes  place,  for  there  the  normal  mode  of  reading  is  from 
right  to  left;  and  therefore,  to  reverse  the  reading  of  a 
word,  is  to  read  it  from  left  to  right. 

Lanci  applied  this  cabalistic  mode  to  the  tetragram- 
maton,  when  he  found  that  IH-OH,  being  read  reversely, 
makes  the  word  HO-HI.* 

But  in  Hebrew,  ho  is  the  masculine  pronoun,  equivalent 
to  the  English  he;  and  hi  is  the  feminine  pronoun,  equiv 
alent  to  she;  and  therefore  the  word  HO-HI,  literally 
translated,  is  equivalent  to  the  English  compound  HE- 
SHE  ;  that  is  to  say,  the  Ineffable  Name  of  God  in 
Hebrew,  being  read  cabalistically,  includes  within  itself 
the  male  and  female  principle,  the  generative  and  prolific 
energy  of  creation  ;  and  here  we  have,  again,  the  widely- 
spread  symbolism  of  the  phallus  and  the  cteis,  the  lingam 
and  the  yoni,  or  their  equivalent,  the  point  within  a  circle, 
and  another  pregnant  proof  of  the  connection  between 
Freemasonry  and  the  ancient  Mysteries. 

And  here,  perhaps,  we  may  begin  to  find  some  mean- 


*  The  /  is  to  be  pronounced  as  e,  and  the  whole  word  as  if  spelled 
in  English  ho-hc. 


THE    INEFFABLE    NAME.  189 

ing  for  the  hitherto  incomprehensible  passage  in  Genesis 
(i.  27)  :  "  So  God  created  man  in  his  own  image;  in 
the  image  of  God  created  he  him;  male  and  female 
created  he  them."  They  could  not  have  been  u  in  the 
image"  of  IHOH,  if  they  had  not  been  "  male  and  fe 
male." 

The  Cabalists  have  exhausted  their  ingenuity  and 
imagination  in  speculations  on  this  sacred  name,  and 
some  of  their  fancies  are  really  sufficiently  interesting  to 
repay  an  investigation.  Sufficient,  however,  has  been 
here  said  to  account  for  the  important  position  that  it 
occupies  in  the  masonic  system,  and  to  enable  us  to 
appreciate  the  symbols  by  which  it  has  been  represented. 

The  great  reverence,  or  indeed  the  superstitious  vener 
ation,  entertained  by  the  ancients  for  the  name  of  the 
Supreme  Being,  led  them  to  express  it  rather  in  symbols 
or  hieroglyphics  than  in  any  word  at  length. 

We  know,  for  instance,  from  the  recent  researches  of 
the  archaeologists,  that  in  all  the  documents  of  the  ancient 
Egyptians,  written  in  the  demotic  or  common  character 
of  the  country,  the  names  of  the  gods  were  invariably 
denoted  by  symbols ;  and  I  have  already  alluded  to  the 
different  modes  by  which  the  Jews  expressed  the  tetra- 
grammaton.  A  similar  practice  prevailed  among  the 
other  nations  of  antiquity.  Freemasonry  has  adopted 
the  same  expedient,  and  the  Grand  Architect  of  the 
Universe,  whom  it  is  the  usage,  even  in  ordinary  writing, 
to  designate  by  the  initials  G.'.A.'.O.'.T.'.U.*.,  is  accord 
ingly  presented  to  us  in  a  variety  of  symbols,  three  of 
which  particularly  require  attention.  These  are  the  letter 
G,  the  equilateral  triangle,  and  the  All-Seeing  Eye. 

Of  the  letter  G  I  have  already  spoken.     A  letter  of  the 


190  THE    INEFFABLE    NAME. 

English  alphabet  can  scarcely  be  considered  an  appro 
priate  symbol  of  an  institution  which  dates  its  organiza 
tion  and  refers  its  primitive  history  to  a  period  long 
anterior  to  the  origin  of  that  language.  Such  a  symbol 
is  deficient  in  the  two  elements  of  antiquity  and  univer 
sality  which  should  characterize  every  masonic  symbol. 
There  can,  therefore,  be  no  doubt  that,  in  its  present  form, 
it  is  a  corruption  of  the  old  Hebrew  symbol,  the  letter 
yod,  by  which  the  sacred  name  was  often  expressed. 
This  letter  is  the  initial  of  the  word  Jehovah,  or  Ihoh, 
as  I  have  already  stated,  and  is  constantly  to  be  met 
with  in  Hebrew  writings  as  the  symbol  or  abbreviature 
of  Jehovah,  which  word,  it  will  be  remembered,  is  never 
written  at  length.  But  because  G  is,  in  like  manner,  the 
initial  of  God,  the  equivalent  of  Jehovah,  this  letter  has 
been  incorrectly,  and,  I  cannot  refrain  from  again  saying, 
most  injudiciously,  selected  to  supply,  in  modern  lodges, 
the  place  of  the  Hebrew  symbol. 

Having,  then,  the  same  meaning  and  force  as  the  He 
brew  yod,  the  letter  G  must  be  considered,  like  its  proto 
type,  as  the  symbol  of  the  life-giving  and  life-sustaining 
power  of  God,  as  manifested  in  the  meaning  of  the  word 
Jehovah,  or  Ihoh,  the  generative  and  prolific  energy  of 
the  Creator. 

The  All-Seeing  Eye  is  another,  and  a  still  more  im 
portant,  symbol  of  the  same  great  Being.  Both  the 
Hebrews  and  the  Egyptians  appear  to  have  derived  its 
use  from  that  natural  inclination  of  figurative  minds  to 
select  an  organ  as  the  symbol  of  the  function  which  it  is 
intended  peculiarly  to  discharge.  Thus  the  foot  was 
often  adopted  as  the  symbol  of  swiftness,  the  arm  of 
strength,  and  the  hand  of  fidelity.  On  the  eame  principle, 


THE    INEFFABLE    NAME.  19! 

the  open  eye  was  selected  as  the  symbol  of  watchfulness, 
and  the  eye  of  God  as  the  symbol  of  divine  watchfulness 
and  care  of  the  universe.  The  use  of  the  symbol  in  this 
sense  is  repeatedly  to  be  found  in  the  Hebrew  writers. 
Thus  the  Psalmist  says  (Ps.  xxxiv.  15),  "The  eyes  of 
the  Lord  are  upon  the  righteous,  and  his  ears  are  open  to 
their  cry,"  which  explains  a  subsequent  passage  (Ps. 
cxxi.  4),  in  which  it  is  said,  "  Behold,  he  that  keepeth 
Israel  shall  neither  slumber  nor  sleep."  * 

On  the  same  principle,  the  Egyptians  represented  Osiris, 
their  chief  deity,  by  the  symbol  of  an  open  eye,  and  placed 
this  hieroglyphic  of  him  in  all  their  temples.  His  sym 
bolic  name,  on  the  monuments,  was  represented  by  the 
eye  accompanying  a  throne,  to  which  was  sometimes 
added  an  abbreviated  figure  of  the  god,  and  sometimes 
what  has  been  called  a  hatchet,  but  which,  I  consider, 
may  as  correctly  be  supposed  to  be  a  representation  of  a 
square. 

The    All-Seeing  Eye   may,    then,  be   considered    as  a 

*  In  the  apocryphal  "Book  of  the  Conversation  of  God  with 
Moses  on  Mount  Sinai,"  translated  by  the  Rev.  W.  Cureton  from 
an  Arabic  MS.  of  the  fifteenth  century,  and  published  by  the 
Philobiblon  Society  of  London,  the  idea  of  the  eternal  watchful 
ness  of  God  is  thus  beautifully  allegorized  :  — 

"  Then  Moses  said  to  the  Lord,  O  Lord,  dost  thou  sleep  or  not? 
The  Lord  said  unto  Moses,  I  never  sleep :  but  take  a  cup  and  fill  it 
with  water.  Then  Moses  took  a  cup  and  filled  it  with  water,  as 
the  Lord  commanded  him.  Then  the  Lord  cast  into  the  heart  of 
Moses  the  breath  of  slumber;  so  he  slept,  and  the  cup  fell  from  his 
hand,  and  the  water  which  was  therein  was  spilled.  Then  Moses 
awoke  from  his  sleep.  Then  said  God  to  Moses,  I  declare  by  my 
power,  and  by  my  glory,  that  if  I  were  to  withdraw  my  providence 
from  the  heavens  and  the  earth  for  no  longer  a  space  of  time  than 
thou  hast  slept,  they  would  at  once  fall  to  ruin  and  confusion,  like 
as  the  cup  fell  from  thy  hand." 


192  THE    INEFFABLE    NAME. 

symbol  of  God  manifested  in  his  omnipresence  —  his 
guardian  and  preserving  character  —  to  which  Solomon 
alludes  in  the  Book  of  Proverbs  (xv.  3),  when  he  says, 
"The  eyes  of  Jehovah  are  in  every  place,  beholding  (or 
as  it  might  be  more  faithfully  translated,  watching)  the 
evil  and  the  good."  It  is  a  symbol  of  the  Omnipresent 
Deity. 

The  triangle  is  another  symbol  which  is  entitled  to  our 
consideration.  There  is,  in  fact,  no  other  symbol  which 
is  more  various  in  its  application  or  more  generally  dif 
fused  throughout  the  whole  system  of  both  the  Spurious 
and  the  Pure  Freemasonry. 

The  equilateral  triangle  appears  to  have  been  adopted 
by  nearly  all  the  nations  of  antiquity  as  a  symbol  of  the 
Deity. 

Among  the  Hebrews,  it  has  already  been  stated  that 
this  figure,  with  a  yod  in  the  centre,  was  used  to  repre 
sent  the  tetragrammaton,  or  ineffable  name  of  God. 

The  Egyptians  considered  the  equilateral  triangle  as 
the  most  perfect  of  figures,  and  a  representative  of  the 
great  principle  of  animated  existence,  each  of  its  sides 
referring  to  one  of  the  three  departments  of  creation  —  the 
animal,  the  vegetable,  and  the  mineral. 

The  symbol  of  universal  nature  among  the  Egyptians 
was  the  right-angled  triangle,  of  which  the  perpendicular 
side  represented  Osiris,  or  the  male  principle  ;  the  base, 
Isis,  or  the  female  principle  ;  and  the  hypothenuse,  their 
offspring,  Horus,  or  the  world  emanating  from  the  union 
of  both  principles. 

All  this,  of  course,  is  nothing  more  nor  less  than  the 
phallus  and  cteis,  or  lingam  and  yoni,  under  a  different 
form. 


THE    INEFFABLE    NAME.  193 

The  symbol  of  the  right-angled  triangle  was  afterwards 
adopted  by  Pythagoras  when  he  visited  the  banks  of  the 
Nile  ;  and  the  discovery  which  he  is  said  to  have  made 
in  relation  to  the  properties  of  this  figure,  but  which  he 
really  learned  from  the  Egyptian  priests,  is  commemo 
rated  in  Masonry  by  the  introduction  of  the  forty-seventh 
problem  of  Euclid's  First  Book  among  the  symbols  of 
the  third  degree.  Here  the  same  mystical  application  is 
supplied  as  in  the  Egyptian  figure,  namely,  that  the 
union  of  the  male  and  female,  or  active  and  passive 
principles  of  nature,  has  produced  the  world.  For  the 
geometrical  proposition  being  that  the  squares  of  the 
perpendicular  and  base  are  equal  to  the  square  of  the 
hypothenuse,  they  maybe  said  to  produce  it  in  the  same 
way  as  Osiris  and  Isis  are  equal  to,  or  produce,  the 
world. 

Thus  the  perpendicular  —  Osiris,  or  the  active,  male 
principle  —  being  represented  by  a  line  whose  measure 
ment  is  3;  and  the  base  —  Isis,  or  the  passive,  female 
principle  —  by  a  line  whose  measurement  is  4  ;  then  their 
union,  or  the  addition  of  the  squares  of  these  numbers, 
will  produce  a  square  whose  root  will  be  the  hypothenuse, 
or  a  line  whose  measurement  must  be  5.  For  the  square 
of  3  is  9,  and  the  square  of  4  is  16,  and  the  square  of  5 
is  25  ;  but  9  added  to  16  is  equal  to  25  ;  and  thus,  out  of 
the  addition,  or  coming  together,  of  the  squares  of  the 
perpendicular  and  base,  arises  the  square  of  the  hypothe 
nuse,  just  as,  out  of  the  coming  together,  in  the  Egyptian 
system,  of  the  active  and  passive  principles,  arises,  or  is 
generated,  the  world. 

In  the  mediaeval  history  of  the  Christian  church,  the 

'3 


194  THE    INEFFABLE    NAME. 

great  ignorance  of  the  people,  and  their  inclination  to  a 
sort  of  materialism,  led  them  to  abandon  the  symbolic 
representations  of  the  Deity,  and  to  depict  the  Father 
with  the  form  and  lineaments  of  an  aged  man,  many  of 
which  irreverent  paintings,  as  far  back  as  the  twelfth 
century,  are  to  be  found  in  the  religious  books  and  edifices 
of  Europe.*  But,  after  the  period  of  the  renaissance,  a 
better  spirit  and  a  purer  taste  began  to  pervade  the  artists 
of  the  church,  and  thenceforth  the  Supreme  Being  was 
represented  only  by  his  name  —  the  tetragrammaton — - 
inscribed  within  an  equilateral  triangle,  and  placed  within 
a  circle  of  rays.  Didron,  in  his  inval 
uable  work  on  Christian  Iconography, 
gives  one  of  these  symbols,  which  was 
carved  on  wood  in  the  seventeenth 
century,  of  which  I  annex  a  copy. 

But  even  in  the  earliest  ages,  when  the 

Deity  was  painted  or  sculptured  as  a  personage,  the  nim 
bus,  or  glory,  which  surrounded  the  head  of  the  Father, 
was  often  made  to  assume  a  triangular  form.  Didron  says 
on  this  subject,  "A  nimbus,  of  a  triangular  form,  is  thus 
seen  to  be  the  exclusive  attribute  of  the  Deity,  and  most 
frequently  restricted  to  the  Father  Eternal.  The  other 
persons  of  the  trinity  sometimes  wear  the  triangle,  but 
only  in  representations  of  the  trinity,  and  because  the 
Father  is  with  them.  Still,  even  then,  beside  the  Father, 


*  I  have  in  my  possession  a  rare  copy  of  the  Vulgate  Bible,  in 
black  letter,  printed  at  Lyons,  in  1522.  The  frontispiece  is  a 
coarsely  executed  wood  cut,  divided  into  six  compartments,  and 
representing  the  six  days  of  the  creation.  The  Father  is,  in  each 
compartment,  pictured  as  an  aged  man  engaged  in  his  creative 
task. 


THE    INEFFABLE    NAME. 

who  has  a  triangle,  the  Son  and  the  Holy  Ghost  are  often 
drawn  with  a  circular  nimbus  only."  * 

The  triangle  has,  in  all  ages  and  in  all  religions,  been 
deemed  a  symbol  of  Deity. 

The  Egyptians,  the  Greeks,  and  the  other  nations  of 
antiquity,  considered  this  figure,  with  its  three  sides,  as  a 
symbol  of  the  creative  energy  displayed  in  the  active  and 
passive,  or  male  and  female,  principles,  and  their  pro 
duct,  the  world  ;  the  Christians  referred  it  to  their  dogma 
of  the  trinity  as  a  manifestation  of  the  Supreme  God  ;  and 
the  Jews  and  the  primitive  masons  to  the  three  periods  of 
existence  included  in  the  signification  of  the  tetragramma- 
ton  —  the  past,  the  present,  and  the  future. 

In  the  higher  degrees  of  Masonry,  the  triangle  is  the  most 
important  of  all  symbols,  and  most  generally  assumes  the 
name  of  the  Delta,  in  allusion  to  the  fourth  letter  of  the 
Greek  alphabet,  which  is  of  the  same  form  and  bears  that 
appellation. 

The  Delta,  or  mystical  triangle,  is  generally  surrounded 
by  a  circle  of  rays,  called  a  u  glory."  When  this  glory 
is  distinct  from  the  figure,  and  surrounds  it  in  the  form  of 
a  circle  (as  in  the  example  just  given  from  Didron),  it  is 
then  an  emblem  of  God's  eternal  glory.  When,  as  is  most 
usual  in  the  masonic  symbol,  the  rays  emanate  from  the 
centre  of  the  triangle,  and,  as  it  were,  enshroud  it  in  their 
brilliancy,  it  is  symbolic  of  the  Divine  Light.  The  per 
verted  ideas  of  the  pagans  referred  these  rays  of  light  to 
their  Sun-god  and  their  Sabian  worship. 

But  the  true  masonic  idea  of  this  glory  is,  that  it  sym 
bolizes  that  Eternal  Light  of  Wisdom  which  surrounds  the 

*  Christian  Iconography,  Millington's  trans.,  vol.  i.  p.  59. 


196  THE    INEFFABLE    NAME. 

Supreme  Architect  as  with  a  sea  of  glory,  and  from  him, 
as  a  common  centre,  emanates  to  the  universe  of  his  crea 
tion,  and  to  which  the  prophet  Ezekiel  alludes  in  his  elo 
quent  description  of  Jehovah  :  i;  And  I  saw  as  the  color 
of  amber,  as  the  appearance  of  fire  round  about  within  it, 
from  the  appearance  of  his  loins  even  upward,  and  from 
his  loins  even  downward,  I  saw,  as  it  were,  the  appear 
ance  of  fire,  and  it  had  brightness  round  about."  (Chap. 
i,  ver.  27.) 

Dante  has  also  beautifully  described  this  circumfused 
light  of  Deity  :  — 

"  There  is  in  heaven  a  light  whose  goodly  shine 
Makes  the  Creator  visible  to  all 
Created,  that  in  seeing  him,  alone 
Have  peace;  and  in  a  circle  spreads  so  far, 
That  the  circumference  were  too  loose  a  zone 
To  girdle  in  the  sun." 

On  a  recapitulation,  then,  of  the  views  that  have  been 
advanced  in  relation  to  these  three  symbols  of  the  Deity 
which  are  to  be  found  in  the  masonic  system,  we  may  say 
that  each  one  expresses  a  different  attribute. 

The  letter  G  is  the  symbol  of  the  self-existent  Jehovah. 

The  All-Seeing  Eye  is  the  symbol  of  the  omnipresent 
God. 

The  triangle*  is  the  symbol  of  the  Supreme  Architect 

*  The  triangle,  or  delta,  is  the  symbol  of  Deity  for  this  reason. 
In  geometrj'  a  single  line  cannot  represent  a  perfect  figure;  neither 
can  two  lines;  three  lines,  however,  constitute  the  triangle  or  first 
perfect  and  demonstrable  figure.  Hence  this  figure  symbolizes 
the  Eternal  God,  infinitely  perfect  in  his  nature.  But  the  triangle 
properly  refers  to  God  only  in  his  quality  as  an  Eternal  Being, 
its  three  sides  representing  the  Past,  the  Present,  and  the  Future. 
Some  Christian  symbologists  have  made  the  three  sides  represent 
the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost;  but  they  evidently  thereby 


THE    INEFFABLE    NAME.  197 

of  the  Universe  —  the  Creator ;  and  when  surrounded 
by  rays  of  glory,  it  becomes  a  symbol  of  the  Architect 
and  Bestower  of  Light. 

And  now,  after  all,  is  there  not  in  this  whole  prevalence 
of  the  name  of  God,  in  so  many  different  symbols,  through 
out  the  masonic  system,  something  more  than  a  mere  evi 
dence  of  the  religious  proclivities  of  the  institution?  Is 
there  not  behind  this  a  more  profound  symbolism,  which 
constitutes,  in  fact,  the  very  essence  of  Freemasonry? 
"  The  names  of  God,"  said  a  learned  theologian  at  the 
beginning  of  this  century,  "  were  intended  to  communi 
cate  the  knowledge  of  God  himself.  By  these,  men  were 
enabled  to  receive  some  scanty  ideas  of  his  essential 
majesty,  goodness,  and  power,  and  to  know  both  whom 
we  are  to  believe,  and  what  we  are  to  believe  of  him." 

And  this  train  of  thought  is  eminently  applicable  to  the 
admission  of  the  name  into  the  system  of  Masonry.  With 
us,  the  name  of  God,  however  expressed,  is  a  symbol  of 
DIVINE  TRUTH,  which  it  should  be  the  incessant  labor  of 
a  Mason  to  seek. 

destroy  the  divine  unity,  making  a  trinity  of  Gods  in  the  unity  of 
a  Godhead.  The  Gnostic  trinity  of  Manes  consisted  of  one  God 
and  two  principles,  one  of  good  and  the  other  of  evil.  The  Indian 
trinity,  symbolized  also  by  the  triangle,  consisted  of  Brahma,  Siva, 
and  Vishnu,  the  Creator,  Preserver,  and  Destroyer,  represented 
by  Earth,  Water,  and  Air.  This  symbolism  of  the  Eternal  God 
by  the  triangle  is  the  reason  why  a  trinitarian  scheme  has  been  so 
prevalent  in  all  religions  —  the  three  sides  naturally  suggesting 
the  three  divisions  of  the  Godhead.  But  in  the  Pagan  and  Oriental 
religions  this  trinity  was  nothing  else  but  a  tritheism. 


XXV. 

THE   LEGENDS   OF  FREEMASONRY. 


compound  character  of  a  speculative  science 
and  an  operative  art,  which  the  masonic  institu- 
tion  assumed  at  the  building  of  King  Solomon's 
temple,  in  consequence  of  the  union,  at  that  era,  of  the 
Pure  Freemasonry  of  the  Noachidas*  with  the  Spurious 
Freemasonry  of  the  Tyrian  workmen,  has  supplied  it 
with  two  distinct  kinds  of  symbols  —  the  mythical,  or 
legendary,  and  the  material;  but  these  are  so  thoroughly 


*  Noachidse,  or  Noachites,  the  descendants  of  Noah.  This 
patriarch  having  alone  preserved  the  true  name  and  worship  of 
God  amid  a  race  of  impious  idolaters,  the  Freemasons  claim  to 
be  his  descendants,  because  they  preserve  that  pure  religion  which 
distinguished  this  second  father  of  the  human  race  from  the' rest 
of  the  world.  (See  the  author's  Lexicon  of  Freemasonry.^)  The 
Tyrian  workmen  at  the  temple  of  Solomon  were  the  descendants 
of  that  other  division  of  the  race  who  fell  off,  at  Shinar,  from  the 
true  worship,  and  repudiated  the  principles  of  Noah.  The  Tyrians, 
however,  like  many  other  ancient  mystics,  had  recovered  some 
portion  of  the  lost  light,  and  the  complete  repossession  was 
finally  achieved  by  their  union  with  the  Jewish  masons,  who  were 
Noachidae. 

198 


THE    LEGENDS    OF    FREEMASONRY.  199 

united  in  object  and  design,  that  it  is  impossible  to  appre 
ciate  the  one  without  an  investigation  of  the  other. 

Thus,  by  way  of  illustration,  it  may  be  observed,  that 
the  temple  itself  has  been  adopted  as  a  material  symbol 
of  the  world  (as  I  have  already  shown  in  former  articles), 
while  the  legendary  history  of  the  fate  of  its  builder  is  a 
mythical  symbol  of  man's  destiny  in  the  world.  What 
ever  is  visible  or  tangible  to  the  senses  in  our  types  and 
emblems  —  such  as  the  implements  of  operative  masonry, 
the  furniture  and  ornaments  of  a  lodge,  or  the  ladder  of 
seven  steps  —  is  a  material  symbol;  while  whatever  de 
rives  its  existence  from  tradition,  and  presents  itself  in 
the  form  of  an  allegory  or  legend,  is  a  mythical  symbol. 
Hiram  the  Builder,  therefore,  and  all  that  refers  to  the 
legend  of  his  connection  with  the  temple,  and  his  fate,  — 
such  as  the  sprig  of  acacia,  the  hill  near  Mount  Moriah, 
and  the  lost  word,  —  are  to  be  considered  as  belonging  to 
the  class  of  mythical  or  legendary  symbols. 

And  this  division  is  not  arbitrary,  but  depends  on  the 
nature  of  the  types  and  the  aspect  in  which  they  present 
themselves  to  our  view. 

Thus  the  sprig  of  acacia,  although  it  is  material,  visi 
ble,  and  tangible,  is,  nevertheless,  not  to  be  treated  as  a 
material  symbol ;  for,  as  it  derives  all  its  significance 
from  its  intimate  connection  with  the  legend  of  Hiram 
Abif,  which  is  a  mythical  symbol,  it  cannot,  without  a 
violent  and  inexpedient  disruption,  be  separated  from  the 
same  class.  For  the  same  reason,  the  small  hill  near 
Mount  Moriah,  the  search  of  the  twelve  Fellow  Crafts, 
and  the  whole  train  of  circumstances  connected  with  the 
lost  word,  are  to  be  viewed  simply  as  mythical  or  legen 
dary,  and  not  as  material  symbols. 


2OO  THE    LEGENDS    OF    FREEMASONRY. 

These  legends  of  Freemasonry  constitute  a  considerable 
and  a  very  important  part  of  its  ritual.  Without  them, 
the  most  valuable  portions  of  the  masonic  as  a  scientific 
system  would  cease  to  exist.  It  is,  in  fact,  in  the  tradi 
tions  and  legends  of  Freemasonry,  more,  even,  than  in  its 
material  symbols,  that  we  are  to  find  the  deep  religious 
instruction  which  the  institution  is  intended  to  inculcate. 
It  must  be  remembered  that  Freemasonry  has  been  de 
fined  to  be  "  a  system  of  morality,  veiled  in  allegory  and 
illustrated  by  symbols."  Symbols,  then,  alone,  do  not 
constitute  the  whole  of  the  system  :  allegory  comes  in 
for  its  share  ;  and  this  allegory,  which  veils  the  divine 
truths  of  masonry,  is  presented  to  the  neophyte  in  the 
various  legends  which  have  been  traditionally  preserved 
in  the  order. 

The  close  connection,  at  least  in  design  and  method  of 
execution,  between  the  institution  of  Freemasonry  and  the 
ancient  Mysteries,  which  were  largely  imbued  with  the 
mythical  character  of  the  ancient  religions,  led,  undoubt 
ed!}',  to  the  introduction  of  the  same  mythical  character 
into  the  masonic  system. 

So  general,  indeed,  was  the  diffusion  of  the  myth  or 
legend  among  the  philosophical,  historical,  and  religious 
systems  of  antiquity,  that  Heyne  remarks,  on  this  subject, 
that  all  the  history  and  philosophy  of  the  ancients  pro 
ceeded  from  myths.* 

The  word  myth,  from  the  Greek  /*D#o£,  a  story,  in  its 

*  "A  mythis  omnis  priscorum  hominum  turn  historia  turn  phi- 
losophia  procedit."  —  Ad  Apollod.  Athen.  Biblioth.  not.  f.  p.  3.  — 
And  Faber  says,  "Allegory  and  personification  were  peculiarly 
agreeable  to  the  genius  of  antiquity;  and  the  simplicity  of  truth 
•was  continually  sacrificed  at  the  shrine  of  poetical  decoration."  — 
On  the  Cabiri. 


THE    LEGENDS    OF    FREEMASONRY.  2OI 

original  acceptation,  signified  simply  a  statement  or  narra 
tive  of  an  event,  without  any  necessary  implication  of  truth 
or  falsehood  ;  but,  as  the  word  is  now  used,  it  conveys  the 
idea  of  a  personal  narrative  of  remote  date,  which,  although 
not  necessarily  untrue,  is  certified  only  by  the  internal  evi 
dence  of  the  tradition  itself.* 

Creuzer,  in  his  u  Syinbolik,"  says  that  myths  and  sym 
bols  were  derived,  on  the  one  hand,  from  the  helpless 
condition  and  the  poor  and  scanty  beginnings  of  religious 
knowledge  among  the  ancient  peoples,  and  on  the  other, 
from  the  benevolent  designs  of  the  priests  educated  in  the 
East,  or  of  Eastern  origin,  to  form  them  to  a  purer  and 
higher  knowledge. 

But  the  observations  of  that  profoundly  philosophical 
historian,  Mr.  Grote,  give  so  correct  a  view  of  the  proba 
ble  origin  of  this  universality  of  the  mythical  element  in 
all  the  ancient  religions,  and  are,  withal,  so  appropriate 
to  the  subject  of  masonic  legends  which  I  am  now  about 
to  discuss,  that  I  cannot  justly  refrain  from  a  liberal  quota 
tion  of  his  remarks. 

"  The  allegorical  interpretation  of  the  myths,"  he  says, 
"  has  been,  by  several  learned  investigators,  especially  by 
Creuzer,  connected  with  the  hypothesis  of  an  ancient  and 
highly-instructed  body  of  priests,  having  their  origin  either 
in  Egypt  or  the  East,  and  communicating  to  the  rude 
and  barbarous  Greeks  religious,  physical,  and  historical 
knowledge,  under  the  veil  of  symbols.  At  a  time  (we 
are  told)  when  language  was  yet  in  its  infancy,  visible 

*  See  Grote,  History  of  Greece,  vol.  i.  ch.  xvi.  p.  479,  whence 
this  definition  has  been  substantially  derived.  The  definitions  of 
Creuzer,  Hermann,  Buttmann,  Heyne,  Welcker,  Voss,  and  MQller 
are  none  of  them  better,  and  some  of  them  not  as  good. 


2O2  THE    LEGENDS    OF    FREEMASONRY. 

symbols  were  the  most  vivid  means  of  acting  upon  the 
minds  of  ignorant  hearers.  The  next  step  was  to  pass  to 
symbolical  language  and  expressions  ;  for  a  plain  and  lit 
eral  exposition,  even  if  understood  at  all,  would  at  least 
have  been  listened  to  with  indifference,  as  not  correspond 
ing  with  any  mental  demand.  In  such  allegorizing  way, 
then,  the  early  priests  set  forth  their  doctrines  respecting 
God,  nature,  and  humanity,  —  a  refined  monotheism  and 
theological  philosophy,  —  and  to  this  purpose  the  earliest 
myths  were  turned.  But  another  class  of  myths,  more 
popular  and  more  captivating,  grew  up  under  the  hands 
of  the  poets — myths  purely  epical,  and  descriptive  of 
real  or  supposed  past  events.  The  allegorical  myths, 
being  taken  up  by  the  poets,  insensibly  became  confound 
ed  in  the  same  category  with  the  purely  narrative  myths; 
the  matter  symbolized  was  no  longer  thought  of,  while 
the  symbolizing  words  came  to  be  construed  in  their  own 
literal  meaning,  and  the  basis  of  the  early  allegory,  thus 
lost  among  the  general  public,  was  only  preserved  as  a 
secret  among  various  religious  fraternities,  composed  of 
members  allied  together  by  initiation  in  certain  mystical 
ceremonies,  and  administered  by  hereditary  families  of 
presiding  priests. 

"  In  the  Orphic  and  Bacchic  sects,  in  the  Eleusinian 
and  Samothracian  Mysteries,  was  thus  treasured  up  the 
secret  doctrine  of  the  old  theological  and  philosophical 
myths,  which  had  once  constituted  the  primitive  legen 
dary  stock  of  Greece  in  the  hands  of  the  original  priest 
hood  and  in  the  ages  anterior  to  Homer.  Persons  who 
had  gone  through  the  preliminary  ceremonies  of  initiation 
were  permitted  at  length  to  hear,  though  under  strict  obli 
gation  of  secrecy,  fhis,  ancient  religion  and  cosmogonic 


THE    LEGENDS    OF    FREEMASONRY. 


203 


doctrine,  revealing  the  destination  of  man  and  the  certain 
ty  of  posthumous  rewards  and  punishments,  all  disen 
gaged  from  the  corruptions  of  poets,  as  well  as  from  the 
symbols  and  allegories  under  which  they  still  remained 
buried  in  the  eyes  of  the  vulgar.  The  Mysteries  of  Greece 
were  thus  traced  up  to  the  earliest  ages,  and  represented 
as  the  only  faithful  depositaries  of  that  purer  theology  and 
physics  which  had  been  originally  communicated,  though 
under  the  unavoidable  inconvenience  of  a  symbolical 
expression,  by  an  enlightened  priesthood,  coming  from 
abroad,  to  the  then  rude  barbarians  of  the  country."* 


*  Hist,  of  Greece,  vol.  i.  ch.  xvi.  p.  579.  The  idea  of  the  exist 
ence  of  an  enlightened  people,  who  lived  at  a  remote  era,  and 
came  from  the  East,  was  a  very  prevalent  notion  among  the  ancient 
traditions.  It  is  corroborative  of  this  that  the  Hebrew  word  3Tp> 
kedem,  signifies,  in  respect  to  place,  the  east,  and,  in  respect  to 
time,  olden  time,  ancient  days.  The  phrase  in  Isaiah  xix.  II, 
which  reads,  "  I  am  the  son  of  the  wise,  the  son  of  ancient  kings," 
might  just  as  well  have  been  translated  "  the  son  of  kings  of  the 
East."  In  a  note  to  the  passage  Ezek.  xliii.  2,  "  the  glory  of  the  God 
of  Israel  came  from  the  way  of  the  East,"  Adam  Clarke  says,  "  All 
knowledge,  all  religion,  and  all  arts  and  sciences,  have  travelled, 
according  to  the  course  of  the  sun,  FROM  EAST  TO  WEST!  "  Bazot 
tells  us  (in  his  Manuel  du  Franc-ma^on,  p.  154)  that  "the  venera 
tion  which  masons  entertain  for  the  east  confirms  an  opinion  pre 
viously  announced,  that  the  religious  system  of  Masonry  came 
from  the  east,  and  has  reference  to  the  primitive  religion,  whose 
first  corruption  was  the  worship  of  the  sun."  And  lastly,  the 
masonic  reader  will  recollect  the  answer  given  in  the  Leland  MS. 
to  the  question  respecting  the  origin  of  Masonry,  namely,  "It  did 
begin  "  ([  modernize  the  orthography)  "with  the  first  men  in  the 
east,  which  were  before  the  first  men  of  the  west;  and  coining 
westerly,  it  hath  brought  herewith  all  comforts  to  the  wild  and 
comfortless."  Locke's  commentary  on  this  answer  may  conclude 
this  note:  "It  should  seem,  by  this,  that  masons  believe  there 
were  men  in  the  east  before  Adam,  who  is  called  the  '  first  man  of 
the  west,'  and  that  arts  and  sciences  began  in  the  east.  Some 


204  THE    LEGENDS    OF    FREEMASONRY. 

In  this  long  but  interesting  extract  we  find  not  only 
a  philosophical  account  of  the  origin  and  design  of  the 
ancient  myths,  but  a  fair  synopsis  of  all  that  can  be  taught 
in  relation  to  the  symbolical  construction  of  Freemasonry, 
as  one  of  the  depositaries  of  a  mythical  theology. 

The  myths  of  Masonry,  at  first  perhaps  nothing  more 
than  the  simple  traditions  of  the  Pure  Freemasonry  of 
the  antediluvian  system,  having  been  corrupted  and  mis 
understood  in  the  separation  of  the  races,  were  again 
purified,  and  adapted  to  the  inculcation  of  truth,  at  first 
by  the  disciples  of  the  Spurious  Freemasonry,  and  then, 
more  fully  and  perfectly,  in  the  development  of  that  sys 
tem  which  we  now  practise.  And  if  there  be  any  leaven 
of  error  still  remaining  in  the  interpretation  of  our  masonic 
myths,  we  must  seek  to  disengage  them  from  the  corrup 
tions  with  which  they  have  been  invested  by  ignorance 
and  by  misinterpretation.  We  must  give  to  them  their 
true  significance,  and  trace  them  back  to  those  ancient 
doctrines  and  faith  whence  the  ideas  which  they  are 
intended  to  embody  were  derived. 

The  myths  or  legends  which  present  themselves  to  our 
attention  in  the  course  of  a  complete  study  of  the  sym 
bolic  system  of  Freemasonry  may  be  considered  as 
divided  into  three  classes:  — 


authors,  of  great  note  for  learning,  have  been  of  the  same  opinion  ; 
and  it  is  certain  that  Europe  and  Africa  (which,  in  respect  to  Asia, 
may  be  called  western  countries)  were  wild  and  savage  long  after 
arts  and  politeness  of  manners  were  in  great  perfection  in  China 
and  the  Indies."  The  Talmudists  make  the  same  allusions  to  the 
superiority  of  the  east.  Thus,  Rabbi  Bechai  says,  "  Adam  was 
created  with  his  face  towards  the  east  that  he  might  behold  the 
light  and  the  rising  sun,  whence  the  east  was  to  him  the  anterior 
part  of  the  world." 


THE    LEGENDS    OF    FREEMASONRY.  2O$ 

1.  The  historical  myth. 

2.  The  philosophical  myth. 

3.  The  mythical  history. 

And  these  three  classes  may  be  defined  as  follows :  — 

1.  The  myth  may  be  engaged  in  the  transmission  of  a 
narrative  of  early  deeds  and  events,  having  a  foundation 
in  truth,  which  truth,  however,  has  been  greatly  distorted 
and  perverted  by  the  omission  or  introduction  of  circum 
stances  and  personages,  and  then  it  constitutes  the  histor 
ical  myth. 

2.  Or  it  may  have  been  invented  and  adopted  as  the 
medium  of  enunciating  a  particular  thought,  or  of  incul 
cating  a  certain  doctrine,  when  it  becomes  a  philosophical 
myth. 

3.  Or,  lastly,   the   truthful  elements  of  actual  history 
may  greatly  predominate  over  the  fictitious  and  invented 
materials  of  the  myth,  and  the  narrative  may  be,  in  the 
main,  made  up  of  facts,  with  a  slight  coloring  of  imagi 
nation,  when  it  forms  a  mythical  history  * 

These  form  the  three  divisions  of  the  legend  or  myth 
(for  I  am  not  disposed,  on  the  present  occasion,  like  some 
of  the  German  mythological  writers,  to  make  a  distinc 
tion  between  the  two  words  f)  ;  and  to  one  of  these  three 


*  Strauss  makes  a  division  of  myths  into  historical,  philosophi 
cal,  and  poetical. — Leben  Jesu.  —  His  poetical  myth  agrees  with 
my  first  division,  his  philosophical  with  my  second,  and  his 
historical  with  my  third.  But  I  object  to  the  word  poetical,  as  a 
distinctive  term,  because  all  myths  have  their  foundation  in  the 
poetic  idea. 

t  Ulmann,  for  instance,  distinguishes  between  a  myth  and  a 
legend  —  the  former  containing,  to  a  great  degree,  fiction  com 
bined  with  history,  and  the  latter  having  but  a  few  faint  echoes  of 
mythical  history. 


2O6  THE    LEGENDS    OF    FREEMASONRY. 

divisions  we  must  appropriate  every  legend  which  belongs 
to  the  mythical  symbolism  of  Freemasonry. 

These  masonic  myths  partake,  in  their  general  charac 
ter,  of  the  nature  of  the  myths  which  constituted  the 
foundation  of  the  ancient  religions,  as  they  have  just  been 
described  in  the  language  of  Mr.  Grote.  Of  these  latter 
myths,  Miiller  *  says  that  "  their  source  is  to  be  found, 
for  the  most  part,  in  oral  tradition,"  and  that  the  real  and 
the  ideal  —  that  is  to  say,  the  facts  of  history  and  the 
inventions  of  imagination  —  concurred,  by  their  union 
and  reciprocal  fusion,  in  producing  the  myth. 

Those  are  the  very  principles  that  govern  the  construc 
tion  of  the  masonic  myths  or  legends.  These,  too,  owe 
their  existence  entirely  to  oral  tradition,  and  are  made  up, 
as  I  have  just  observed,  of  a  due  admixture  of  the  real 
and  the  ideal  —  the  true  and*  the  false  —  the  facts  of  his 
tory  and  the  inventions  of  allegory. 

Dr.  Oliver  remarks  that  "  the  first  series  of  historical 
facts,  after  the  fall  of  man,  must  necessarily  have  been 
traditional,  and  transmitted  from  father  to  son  by  oral 
communication."  f  The  same  system,  adopted  in  all  the 
Mysteries,  has  been  continued  in  the  masonic  institution  ; 
and  all  the  esoteric  instructions  contained  in  the  legends 
of  Freemasonry  are  forbidden  to  be  written,  and  can  be 
communicated  only  in  the  oral  intercourse  of  Freemasons 
with  each  other.  J 

*  In  his  "  Prolegomena  zu  einer  wissenshaftlichen  Mythologie," 
cap.  iv.  This  valuable  work  was  translated  in  1844,  by  Mr.  John 
Leitch. 

t  Historical  Landmarks,  i.  53. 

J  See  an  article,  by  the  author,  on  "  The  Unwritten  Landmarks 
of  Freemasonry,"  in  the  first  volume  of  the  Masonic  Miscellany, 
in  which  this  subject  is  treated  at  considerable  length. 


THE    LEGENDS    OF    FREEMASONRY.  2OJ 

De  Wette,  in  his  Criticism  on  the  Mosaic  History,  lays 
down  the  test  by  which  a  myth  is  to  be  distinguished  from 
a  strictly  historical  narrative,  as  follows,  namely  :  that  the 
myth  must  owe  its  origin  to  the  intention  of  the  inventor 
not  to  satisfy  the  natural  thirst  for  historical  truth  by  a 
simple  narration  of  facts,  but  rather  to  delight  or  touch 
the  feelings,  or  to  illustrate  some  philosophical  or  religious 
truth. 

This  definition  precisely  fits  the  character  of  the  myths 
of  Masonry.  Take,  for  instance,  the  legend  of  the  mas 
ter's  degree,  or  the  myth  of  Hiram  Abif.  As  "  a  simple 
narration  of  facts,"  it  is  of  no  great  value  —  certainly  not 
of  value  commensurate  with  the  labor  that  has  been  en- 
gfnircd  in  its  transmission.  Its  invention  —  bv  which  is 

o     t>  ^ 

meant,  not  the  invention  or  imagination  of  all  the  inci 
dents  of  which  it  is  composed,  for  there  are  abundant 
materials  of  the  true  and  real  in  its  details,  but  its  inven 
tion  or  composition  in  the  form  of  a  myth  by  the  addition 
of  some  features,  the  suppression  of  others,  and  the 
general  arrangement  of  the  whole  —  was  not  intended  to 
add  a  single  item  to  the  great  mass  of  history,  but  alto 
gether,  as  De  Wette  says,  "  to  illustrate  a  philosophical 
or  religious  truth,"  which  truth,  it  is  hardly  necessary  for 
me  to  say,  is  the  doctrine  of  the  immortality  of  the  soul. 

It  must  be  evident,  from  all  that  has  been  said  respecting 
the  analogy  in  origin  and  design  between  the  masonic  and 
the  ancient  religious  myths,  that  no  one  acquainted  with 
the  true  science  of  this  subject  can,  for  a  moment,  contend 
that  all  the  legends  and  traditions  of  the  order  are,  to  the 
very  letter,  historical  facts.  All  that  can  be  claimed  for 
them  is,  that  in  some  there  is  simply  a  substratum  of 
history,  the  edifice  constructed  on  this  foundation  being 


2O8         THE  LEGENDS  OF  FREEMASONRY. 

purely  inventive,  to  serve  as  a  medium  for  inculcating 
some  religious  truth  ;  in  others,  nothing  more  than  an 
idea  to  which  the  legend  or  myth  is  indebted  for  its  exist 
ence,  and  of  which  it  is,  as  a  symbol,  the  exponent ;  and 
in  others,  again,  a  great  deal  of  truthful  narrative,  more 
or  less  intermixed  with  fiction,  but  the  historical  always 
predominating. 

Thus  there  is  a  legend,  contained  in  some  of  our  old 
records,  which  states  that  Euclid  was  a  distinguished 
Mason,  and  that  he  introduced  Masonry  among  the 
Egyptians.*  Now,  it  is  not  at  all  necessary  to  the 


*  As  a  matter  of  some  interest  to  the  curious  reader,  I  insert  the 
legend  as  published  in  the  Gentleman's  Magazine  of  June,  1815, 
from,  it  is  said,  a  parchment  roll  supposed  to  have  been  written 
early  in  the  seventeenth  century,  and  which,  if  so,  was  in  all  prob 
ability  copied  from  one  of  an  older  date  :  — 

"  Moreover,  when  Abraham  and  Sara  his  wife  went  into  Egipt, 
-there  he  taught  the  Seaven  Scyences  to  the  Egiptians;  and  he  had 
a  worthy  Scoller  that  height  Ewclyde,  and  he  learned  right  well, 
and  was  a  master  of  all  the  vij  Sciences  liberall.  And  in  his  dayes 
it  befell  that  the  lord  and  the  estates  of  the  realme  had  soe  many 
sonns  that  they  had  gotten  some  by  their  wifes  and  some  by  other 
ladyes  of  the  realme;  for  that  land  is  a  hott  land  and  a  plentious 
of  generacion.  And  they  had  not  competent  livehode  to  find  with 
their  children ;  wherefor  they  made  much  care.  And  then  the 
King  of  the  land  made  a  great  counsell  and  a  parliament,  to  witt, 
how  they  might  find  their  children  honestly  as  gentlemen.  And 
they  could  find  no  manner  of  good  way.  And  then  they  did  crye 
through  all  the  realme,  if  there  were  any  man  that  could  enforme 
them,  that  he  should  come  to  them,  and  he  should  be  soe  re 
warded  for  his  travail,  that  he  should  hold  him  pleased. 

"  After  that  this  cry  was  made,  then  came  this  worthy  clarke 
Ewclyde,  and  said  to  the  King  and  to  all  his  great  lords  :  '  If  yee 
will,  take  me  your  children  to  governe.  and  to  teach  them  one  of 
the  Seaven  Scyences,  wherewith  they  may  live  honestly  as  gentle 
men  should,  under  a  condicion  that  yee  will  grant  mee  and  them 
a  commission  that  I  may  have  power  to  rule  them  after  the  man- 


THE    LEGENDS    OF    FREEMASONRY.  209 

orthodoxy  of  a  Mason's  creed  that  he  should  literally 
believe  that  Euclid,  the  great  geometrician,  was  really  a 
Freemason,  and  that  the  ancient  Egyptians  were  indebted 
to  him  for  the  establishment  of  the  institution  among 
them.  Indeed,  the  palpable  anachronism  in  the  legend 
which  makes  Euclid  the  contemporary  of  Abraham 
necessarily  prohibits  any  such  belief,  and  shows  that  the 
whole  story  is  a  sheer  invention.  The  intelligent  Mason, 
however,  will  not  wholly  reject  the  legend,  as  ridiculous 
or  absurd  ;  but,  with  a  due  sense  of  the  nature  and  design 
of  our  system  of  symbolism,  will  rather  accept  it  as  what, 
in  the  classification  laid  down  on  a  preceding  page,  would 
be  called  u  a  philosophical  myth"  — an  ingenious  method 
of  conveying,  symbolically,  a  masonic  truth. 

Euclid  is  here  very  appropriately  used  as  a  type  of 
geometry,  that  science  of  which  he  was  so  eminent  a 
teacher,  and  the  myth  or  legend  then  symbolizes  the  fact 
that  there  was  in  Egypt  a  close  connection  between  that 
science  and  the  great  moral  and  religious  system,  which 
was  among  the  Egyptians,  as  well  as  other  ancient  na 
tions,  what  Freemasonry  is  in  the  present  day  —  a  secret 
institution,  established  for  the  inculcation  of  the  same 
principles,  and  inculcating  them  in  the  same  symbolic 
manner.  So  interpreted,  this  legend  corresponds  to  all 
the  developments  of  Egyptian  history,  which  teach  us 
how  close  a  connection  existed  in  that  country  between 

ner  that  the  science  ought  to  be  ruled.'  And  that  the  Kinge  and 
all  his  counsell  granted  to  him  anone,  and  sealed  their  commis 
sion.  And  then  this  worthy  tooke  to  him  these  lords'  sonns,  and 
taught  them  the  scyence  of  Geometric  in  practice,  for  to  work  in 
stones  all  manner  of  worthy  worke  that  belongeth  to  buildinge 
churches,  temples,  castells,  towres,  and  manners,  and  all  other 
manner  of  buildings." 

H 


2IO  THE    LEGENDS    OF    FREEMASONRY. 

the  religious  and  scientific  systems.  Thus  Kenrick  tells 
us,  that  "when  we  read  of  foreigners  [in  Egypt]  being 
obliged  to  submit  to  painful  and  tedious  ceremonies  of 
initiation,  it  was  not  that  they  might  learn  the  secret 
meaning  of  the  rites  of  Osiris  or  Isis,  but  that  they  might 
partake  of  the  knowledge  of  astronomy,  physic,  geome 
try,  and  theology."  * 

Another  illustration  will  be  found  in  the  myth  or  legend 
of  the  Winding  Stairs,  by  which  the  Fellow  Crafts  are 
said  to  have  ascended  to  the  middle  chamber  to  receive 
their  wages.  Now,  this  myth,  taken  in  its  literal  sense, 
is,  in  all  its  parts,  opposed  to  history  and  probability. 
As  a  myth,  it  finds  its  origin  in  the  fact  that  there  was  a 
place  in  the  temple  called  the  "  Middle  Chamber,"  and 
that  there  were  "winding  stairs"  by  which  it  was 
reached  ;  for  we  read,  in  the  First  Book  of  Kings,  that 
"  they  went  up  with  winding  stairs  into  the  middle  cham 
ber."!  But  we  have  no  historical  evidence  that  the  stairs 
were  of  the  construction,  or  that  the  chamber  was  used 
for  the  purpose,  indicated  in  the  mythical  narrative,  as  it 
is  set  forth  in  the  ritual  of  the  second  degree.  The  whole 
legend  is,  in  fact,  an  historical  myth,  in  which  the  mystic 
number  of  the  steps,  the  process  of  passing  to  the  cham 
ber,  and  the  wages  there  received,  are  inventions  added 
to  or  ingrafted  on  the  fundamental  history  contained  in 
the  sixth  chapter  of  Kings,  to  inculcate  important  sym 
bolic  instruction  relative  to  the  principles  of  the  order. 
These  lessons  might,  it  is  true,  have  been  inculcated  in 
a  dry,  didactic  form  ;  but  the  allegorical  and  mythical 
method  adopted  tends  to  make  a  stronger  and  deeper 

*  Ancient  Egypt  under  the  Pharaohs,  vol.  i.  p.  393. 
f  I  Kings  vi.  8. 


THE    LEGENDS    OF    FREEMASONRY.  211 

impression  on  the  mind,  and  at  the  same  time  serves 
more  closely  to  connect  the  institution  of  Masonry  with 
the  ancient  temple. 

Again  :  the  myth  which  traces  the  origin  of  the  insti 
tution  of  Freemasonry  to  the  beginning  of  the  world, 
making  its  commencement  coeval  with  the  creation,  —  a 
myth  which  is,  even  at  this  day,  ignorantly  interpreted, 
by  some,  as  an  historical  fact,  and  the  reference  to  which 
is  still  preserved  in  the  date  of  "  anno  lucis,"  which  is 
affixed  to  all  masonic  documents,  —  is  but  a  philosophical 
myth,  symbolizing  the  idea  which  analogically  connects 
the  creation  of  physical  light  in  the  universe  with  the 
birth  of  masonic  or  spiritual  and  intellectual  light  in  the 
candidate.  The  one  is  the  type  of  the  other  When, 
therefore,  Preston  says  that  u  from  the  commencement  of 
the  world  we  may  trace  the  foundation  of  Masonry,"  and 
when  he  goes  on  to  assert  that  "  ever  since  symmetry  be 
gan,  and  harmony  displayed  her  charms,  our  order  has 
had  a  being,''  we  are  not  to  suppose  that  Preston  intended 
to  teach  that  a  masonic  lodge  was  held  in  the  Garden  of 
Eden.  Such  a  supposition  would  justly  subject  us  to  the 
ridicule  of  every  intelligent  person.  The  only  idea  in 
tended  to  be  conveyed  is  this :  that  the  principles  of  Free 
masonry,  which,  indeed,  are  entirely  independent  of  any 
special  organization  which  it  may  have  as  a  society,  are 
coeval  with  the  existence  of  the  world  ;  that  when  God 
said,  u  Let  there  be  light,"  the  material  light  thus  pro 
duced  was  an  antitype  of  that  spiritual  light  that  must 
burst  upon  the  mind  of  every  candidate  when  his  intellec 
tual  world,  theretofore  "  without  form  and  void,"  becomes 
adorned  and  peopled  with  the  living  thoughts  and  divine 
principles  which  constitute  the  great  system  of  Specula- 


212  THE    LEGENDS    OF    FREEMASONRY. 

tive  Masonry,  and  when  the  spirit  of  the  institution, 
brooding  over  the  vast  deep  of  his  mental  chaos,  shall, 
from  intellectual  darkness,  bring  forth  intellectual  light* 

In  the  legends  of  the  Master's  degree  and  of  the 
Royal  Arch  there  is  a  commingling  of  the  historical 
myth  and  the  mythical  history,  so  that  profound  judg 
ment  is  often  required  to  discriminate  these  differing  ele 
ments.  As,  for  example,  the  legend  of  the  third  degree 
is,  in  some  of  its  details,  undoubtedly  mythical  —  in 
others,  just  as  undoubtedly  historical.  The  difficulty, 
however,  of  separating  the  one  from  the  other,  and  of 
distinguishing  the  fact  from  the  fiction,  has  necessarily 
produced  a  difference  of  opinion  on  the  subject  among 
masonic  writers.  Hutchinson,  and,  after  him,  Oliver, 
think  the  whole  legend  an  allegory  or  philosophical 
myth.  I  am  inclined,  with  Anderson  and  the  earlier 
writers,  to  suppose  it  a  mythical  history.  In  the  Royal 
Arch  degree,  the  legend  of  the  rebuilding  of  the  temple 
is  clearly  historical ;  but  there  are  so  many  accompanying 
circumstances,  which  are  uncertified,  except  by  oral  tra 
dition,  as  to  give  to  the  entire  narrative  the  appearance 
of  a  mythical  history.  The  particular  legend  of  the  three 
weary  sojourners  is  undoubtedly  a  myth,  and  perhaps 
merely  a  philosophical  one,  or  the  enunciation  of  an  idea 
—  namely,  the  reward  of  successful  perseverance,  through 
all  dangers,  in  the  search  for  divine  truth. 

"  To  form  symbols  and  to  interpret  symbols,"  says  the 
learned  Creuzer,  u  were  the  main  occupation  of  the  an 
cient  priesthood."  Upon  the  studious  Mason  the  same 
task  of  interpretation  devolves.  He  who  desires  properly 

*  An  allusion  to  this  symbolism  is  retained  in  one  of  the  well- 
known  mottoes  of  the  order  —  "  Lux  e  tenebris" 


THE    LEGENDS    OF    FREEMASONRY.  213 

to  appreciate  the  profound  wisdom  of  the  institution  of 
which  he  is  the  disciple,  must  not  be  content,  with  unin- 
quiring  credulity,  to  accept  all  the  traditions  that  are 
imparted  to  him  as  veritable  histories;  nor  yet,  with 
unphilosophic  incredulity,  to  reject  them  in  a  mass,  as 
fabulous  inventions.  In  these  extremes  there  is  equal 
error.  "  The  myth,"  says  Hermann,  "  is  the  representa 
tion  of  an  idea."  It  is  for  that  idea  that  the  student  must 
search  in  the  myths  of  Masonry.  Beneath  every  one  of 
them  there  is  something  richer  and  more  spiritual  than 
the  mere  narrative.*  This  spiritual  essence  he  must 
learn  to  extract  from  the  ore  in  which,  like  a  precious 
metal,  it  lies  imbedded.  It  is  this  that  constitutes  the 
true  value  of  Freemasonry.  Without  its  symbols,  and 
its  myths  or  legends,  and  the  ideas  and  conceptions 
which  lie  at  the  bottom  of  them,  the  time,  the  labor,  and 
the  expense  incurred  in  perpetuating  the  institution, 
would  be  thrown  away.  Without  them,  it  would  be 
a  "  vain  and  empty  show."  Its  grips  and  signs  are  worth 
nothing,  except  for  social  purposes,  as  mere  means  of 
recognition.  So,  too.  would  be  its  words,  were  it  not  that 
they  are,  for  the  most  part,  symbolic.  Its  social  habits 
and  its  charities  are  but  incidental  points  in  its  constitu- 

*  "  An  allegory  is  that  in  which,  under  borrowed  characters  and 
allusions,  is  shadowed  some  real  action  or  moral  instruction  ;  or,  to 
keep  more  strictly  to  its  derivation  (aAAog,  alius,  and  byooevw,  dico}, 
it  is  that  in  which  one  thing  is  related  and  another  thing  is  under 
stood.  Hence  it  is  apparent  that  an  allegory  must  have  two 
senses  —  the  literal  and  mystical ;  and  for  that  reason  it  must  con 
vey  its  instruction  under  borrowed  characters  and  allusions 
throughout."  —  The  Antiquity,  JLvidence,  and  Certainty  of  Chris 
tianity  canvassed,  or  Dr.  Middleton's  Examination  of  the  Bishop 
of  London's  Discourses  on  Prophecy.  By  Anselm  Bayly,  LL.  B.y 
Minor  Canon  of  St.  Paul's.  Lond.  1751. 


214  THE    LEGENDS    OF    FREEMASONRY. 

tion  —  of  themselves  good,  it  is  true,  but  capable  of  being 
attained  in  a  simpler  way.  Its  true  value,  as  a  science, 
consists  in  its  symbolism  —  in  the  great  lessons  of  divine 
truth  which  it  teaches,  and  in  the  admirable  manner  in 
which  it  accomplishes  that  teaching.  Every  one,  there 
fore,  who  desires  to  be  a  skilful  Mason,  must  not  suppose 
that  the  task  is  accomplished  by  a  perfect  knowledge  of 
the  mere  phraseology  of  the  ritual,  by  a  readiness  in 
opening  and  closing  a  lodge,  nor  by  an  off-hand  capacity 
to  confer  degrees.  All  these  are  good  in  their  places,  but 
without  the  internal  meaning  they  are  but  mere  child's 
play.  He  must  study  the  myths,  the  traditions,  and  the 
symbols  of  the  order,  and  learn  their  true  interpretation  ; 
for  tli.s  alone  constitutes  the  science  and  the  philosophy  — 
the  end,  aim,  and  design  of  Speculative  Masonry. 


XXVI. 

THE   LEGEND   OF  THE   WINDING   STAIRS. 

EFORE  proceeding  to  the  examination  of  those 
more  important  mythical  legends  which  appro 
priately  belong  to  the  Master's  degree,  it  will 
not,  I  think,  be  unpleasing  or  uninstructive  to 
consider  the  only  one  which  is  attached  to  the  Fellow 
Craft's  degree  —  that,  namely,  which  refers  to  the  alle 
gorical  ascent  of  the  Winding  Stairs  to  the  Middle 
Chamber,  and  the  symbolic  payment  of  the  workmen's 
wages. 

Although  the  legend  of  the  Winding  Stairs  forms  an 
important  tradition  of  Ancient  Craft  Masonry,  the  only 
allusion  to  it  in  Scripture  is  to  be  found  in  a  single  verse 
in  the  sixth  chapter  of  the  First  Book  of  Kings,  and  is  in 
these  words :  "  The  door  for  the  middle  chamber  was 
in  the  right  side  of  the  house  ;  and  they  went  up  with 
winding  stairs  into  the  middle  chamber,  and  out  of  the 
middle  into  the  third."  Out  of  this  slender  material  has 
been  constructed  an  allegory,  which,  if  properly  consid 
ered  in  its  symbolical  relations,  will  be  found  to  be  of 
surpassing  beauty.  But  it  is  only  as  a  symbol  that  we 

215 


2l6  THE    LEGEND    OF 

can  regard  this  whole  tradition  ;  for  the  historical  facts 
and  the  architectural  details  alike  forbid  us  for  a  moment 
to  suppose  that  the  legend,  as  it  is  rehearsed  in  the  second 
degree  of  Masonry,  is  anything  more  than  a  magnificent 
philosophical  myth. 

Let  us  inquire  into  the  true  design  of  this  legend,  and 
learn  the  lesson  of  symbolism  which  it  is  intended  to 
teach. 

In  the  investigation  of  the  true  meaning  of  every  ma 
sonic  symbol  and  allegory,  we  must  be  governed  by  the 
single  principle  that  the  whole  design  of  Freemasonry  as 
a  speculative  science  is  the  investigation  of  divine  truth. 
To  this  great  object  everything  is  subsidiary.  The  Mason 
is,  from  the  moment  of  his  initiation  as  an  Entered  Ap 
prentice,  to  the  time  at  which  he  receives  the  full  fruition 
of  masonic  light,  an  investigator  —  a  laborer  in  the  quarry 
and  the  temple  —  whose  reward  is  to  be  Truth.  All  the 
ceremonies  and  traditions  of  the  order  tend  to  this  ulti 
mate  design.  Is  there  light  to  be  asked  for?  It  is  the 
intellectual  light  of  wisdom  and  truth.  Is  there  a  word 
to  be  sought?  That  word  is  the  symbol  of  truth.  Is 
there  a  loss  of  something  that  had  been  promised?  That 
loss  is  typical  of  the  failure  of  man,  in  the  infirmity  of  his 
nature,  to  discover  divine  truth.  Is  there  a  substitute  to 
be  appointed  for  that  loss?  It  is  an  allegory  which 
teaches  us  that  in  this  world  man  can  only  approximate 
to  the  full  conception  of  truth. 

Hence  there  is  in  Speculative  Masonry  always  a  prog 
ress,  symbolized  by  its  peculiar  ceremonies  of  initiation. 
There  is  an  advancement  from  a  lower  to  a  higher  state 
—  from  darkness  to  light  —  from  death  to  life  —  from 
error  to  truth.  The  candidate  is  always  ascending ;  he 


THE    WINDING    STAIRS.  21 7 

is  never  stationary  ;  he  never  goes  back,  but  each  step  he 
takes  brings  him  to  some  new  mental  illumination  —  to 
the  knowledge  of  some  more  elevated  doctrine.  The 
teaching  of  the  Divine  Master  is,  in  respect  to  this  con 
tinual  progress,  the  teaching  of  Masonry  — u  No  man 
having  put  his  hand  to  the  plough,  and  looking  back,  is 
fit  for  the  kingdom  of  heaven."  And  similar  to  this  is 
the  precept  of  Pythagoras:  "When  travelling,  turn  not 
back,  for  if  you  do  the  Furies  will  accompany  you." 

Now,  this  principle  of  masonic  symbolism  is  apparent 
in  many  places  in  each  of  the  degrees.  In  that  of  the 
Entered  Apprentice  we  find  it  developed  in  the  theo 
logical  ladder,  which,  resting  on  earth,  leans  its  top  upon 
heaven,  thus  inculcating  the  idea  of  an  ascent  from  a 
lower  to  a  higher  sphere,  as  the  object  of  masonic  labor. 
In  the  Master's  degree  we  find  it  exhibited  in  its  most 
religious  form,  in  the  restoration  from  death  to  life — in 
the  change  from  the  obscurity  of  the  grave  to  the  holy 
of  holies  of  the  Divine  Presence.  In  all  the  degrees  we 
find  it  presented  in  the  ceremony  of  circumambulation, 
in  which  there  is  a  gradual  inquisition,  and  a  passage  from 
an  inferior  to  a  superior  officer.  And  lastly,  the  same 
symbolic  idea  is  conveyed  in  the  Fellow  Craft's  degree 
in  the  legend  of  the  Winding  Stairs. 

In  an  investigation  of  the  symbolism  of  the  Winding 
Stairs  we  shall  be  directed  to  the  true  explanation  by  a 
reference  to  their  origin,  their  number,  the  objects  which 
they  recall,  and  their  termination,  but  above  all  by  a  con 
sideration  of  the  great  design  which  an  ascent  upon  them 
was  intended  to  accomplish. 

The  steps  of  this  Winding  Staircase  commenced,  we 
are  informed,  at  the  porch  of  the  temple  ;  that  is  to  say, 


2l8  THE    LEGEND    OF 

at  its  very  entrance.  But  nothing  is  more  undoubted  in 
the  science  of  masonic  symbolism  than  that  the  temple 
was  the  representative  of  the  world  purified  by  the  She- 
kinah,  or  the  Divine  Presence.  The  world  of  the  profane 
is  without  the  temple  ;  the  world  of  the  initiated  is  within 
its  sacred  walls.  Hence  to  enter  the  temple,  to  pass 
within  the  porch,  to  be  made  a  Mason,  and  to  be  born 
into  the  world  of  masonic  light,  are  all  synonymous  and 
convertible  terms.  Here,  then,  the  symbolism  of  the 
Winding  Stairs  begins. 

The  Apprentice,  having  entered  within  the  porch  of 
the  temple,  has  begun  his  masonic  life.  But  the  first 
degree  in  Masonry,  like  the  lesser  Mysteries  of  the  ancient 
systems  of  initiation,  is  only  a  preparation  and  purifica 
tion  for  something  higher.  The  Entered  Apprentice  is 
the  child  in  Masonry.  The  lessons  which  he  receives 
are  simply  intended  to  cleanse  the  heart  and  prepare  the 
recipient  for  that  mental  illumination  which  is  to  be  given 
in  the  succeeding  degrees. 

As  a  Fellow  Craft,  he  has  advanced  another  step,  and 
as  the  degree  is  emblematic  of  youth,  so  it  is  here  that  the 
intellectual  education  of  the  candidate  begins.  And 
therefore,  here,  at  the  very  spot  which  separates  the 
Porch  from  the  Sanctuary,  where  childhood  ends  and 
manhood  begins,  he  finds  stretching  out  before  him  a 
winding  stair  which  invites  him,  as  it  were,  to  ascend, 
and  which,  as  the  symbol  of  discipline  and  instruction, 
teaches  him  that  here  must  commence  his  masonic  labor 
—  here  he  must  enter  upon  those  glorious  though  difficult 
researches,  the  end  of  which  is  to  be  the  possession  of 
divine  truth.  The  Winding  Stairs  begin  after  the  candi 
date  has  passed  within  the  Porch  and  between  the  pillars 


THE    WINDING    STAIRS.  219 

of  Strength  and  Establishment,  as  a  significant  symbol 
to  teach  him  that  as  soon  as  he  has  passed  beyond  the 
years  of  irrational  childhood,  and  commenced  his  entrance 
upon  manly  life,  the  laborious  task  of  self-improvement 
is  the  first  duty  that  is  placed  before  him.  He  cannot 
stand  still,  if  he  would  be  worthy  of  his  vocation  ;  his  des 
tiny  as  an  immortal  being  requires  him  to  ascend,  step  by 
step,  until  he  has  reached  the  summit,  where  the  treasures 
of  knowledge  await  him. 

The  number  of  these  steps  in  all  the  systems  has  been 
odd.  Vitruvius  remarks  —  and  the  coincidence  is  at  least 
curious  —  that  the  ancient  temples  were  always  ascended 
by  an  odd  number  of  steps ;  and  he  assigns  as  the  reason, 
that,  commencing  with  the  right  foot  at  the  bottom,  the 
worshipper  would  find  the  same  foot  foremost  when  he 
entered  the  temple,  which  was  considered  as  a  fortunate 
omen.  But  the  fact  is,  that  the  symbolism  of  numbers 
was  borrowed  by  the  Masons  from  Pythagoras,  in  whose 
system  of  philosophy  it  plays  an  important  part,  and  in 
which  odd  numbers  were  considered  as  more  perfect  than 
even  ones.  Hence,  throughout  the  masonic  system  we 
find  a  predominance  of  odd  numbers ;  and  while  three, 
five,  seven,  nine,  fifteen,  and  twenty-seven,  are  all-impor 
tant  symbols,  we  seldom  find  a  reference  to  two,  four, 
six,  eight,  or  ten.  The  odd  number  of  the  stairs  was 
therefore  intended  to  symbolize  the  idea  of  perfection,  to 
which  it  was  the  object  of  the  aspirant  to  attain. 

As  to  the  particular  number  of  the  stairs,  this  has  varied 
at  different  periods.  Tracing-boards  of  the  last  century 
have  been  found,  in  which  only  jive  steps  are  delineated, 
and  others  in  which  they  amount  to  seven.  The  Presto- 
nian  lectures,  used  in  England  in  the  beginning  of  this 


22O  THE    LEGEND    OF 

century,  gave  the  whole  number  as  thirty-eight,  dividing 
them  into  series  of  one,  three,  five,  seven,  nine,  and 
eleven.  The  error  of  making  an  even  number,  which 
was  a  violation  of  the  Pythagorean  principle  of  odd  num 
bers  as  the  symbol  of  perfection,  was  corrected  in  the 
Hemming  lectures,  adopted  at  the  union  of  the  two  Grand 
Lodges  of  England,  by  striking  out  the  eleven,  which  was 
also  objectionable  as  receiving  a  sectarian  explanation. 
In  this  country  the  number  was  still  further  reduced  to 
fifteen,  divided  into  three  series  of  three,  five,  and  seven. 
I  shall  adopt  this  American  division  in  explaining  the 
symbolism,  although,  after  all,  the  particular  number 
of  the  steps,  or  the  peculiar  method  of  their  division  into 
series,  will  not  in  any  way  affect  the  general  symbolism 
of  the  whole  legend. 

The  candidate,  then,  in  the  second  degree  of  Masonry, 
represents  a  man  starting  forth  on  the  journey  of  life, 
with  the  great  task  before  him  of  self-improvement.  For 
the  faithful  performance  of  this  task,  a  reward  is  promised, 
which  reward  consists  in  the  development  of  all  his  intel 
lectual  faculties,  the  moral  and  spiritual  elevation  of  his 
character,  and  the  acquisition  of  truth  and  knowledge. 
Now,  the  attainment  of  this  moral  and  intellectual  condi 
tion  supposes  an  elevation  of  character,  an  ascent  from  a 
lower  to  a  higher  life,  and  a  passage  of  toil  and  difficulty, 
through  rudimentary  instruction,  to  the  full  fruition  of 
wisdom.  This  is  therefore  beautifully  symbolized  by  the 
Winding  Stairs ;  at  whose  foot  the  aspirant  stands  ready 
to  climb  the  toilsome  steep,  while  at  its  top  is  placed 
"  that  hieroglyphic  bright  which  none  but  Craftsmen  ever 
saw,"  as  the  emblem  of  divine  truth.  And  hence  a  dis 
tinguished  writer  has  said  that  u  these  steps,  like  all  the 


THE    WINDING    STAIRS.  221 

masonic  symbols,  are  illustrative  of  discipline  and  doc 
trine,  as  well  as  of  natural,  mathematical,  and  metaphys 
ical  science,  and  open  to  us  an  extensive  range  of  moral 
and  speculative  inquiry." 

The  candidate,  incited  by  the  love  of  virtue  and  the 
desire  of  knowledge,  and  withal  eager  for  the  reward  of 
truth  which  is  set  before  him,  begins  at  once  the  toilsome 
ascent.  At  each  division  he  pauses  to  gather  instruction 
from  the  symbolism  which  these  divisions  present  to  his 
attention. 

At  the  first  pause  which  he  makes  he  is  instructed  in 
the  peculiar  organization  of  the  order  of  which  he  has 
become  a  disciple.  But  the  information  here  given,  if 
taken  in  its  naked,  literal  sense,  is  barren,  and  unworthy 
of  his  labor.  The  rank  of  the  officers  who  govern,  and 
the  names  of  the  degrees  which  constitute  the  institution, 
can  give  him  no  knowledge  which  he  has  not  before  pos 
sessed.  We  must  look  therefore  to  the  symbolic  meaning 
of  these  allusions  for  any  value  which  may  be  attached 
to  this  part  of  the  ceremony. 

The  reference  to  the  organization  of  the  masonic  insti 
tution  is  intended  to  remind  the  aspirant  of  the  union  of 
men  in  society,  and  the  development  of  the  social  state 
out  of  the  state  of  nature.  He  is  thus  reminded,  in  the 
very  outset  of  his  journey,  of  the  blessings  which  arise 
from  civilization,  and  of  the  fruits  of  virtue  and  knowl 
edge  which  are  derived  from  that  condition.  Masonry 
itself  is  the  result  of  civilization  ;  while,  in  grateful  return, 
it  has  been  one  of  the  most  important  means  of  extending 
that  condition  of  mankind. 

All  the  monuments  of  antiquity  that  the  ravages  of 
time  have  left,  combine  to  prove  that  man  had  no  sooner 


222  THE   LEGEND    OF 

emerged  from  the  savage  into  the  social  state,  than  he 
commenced  the  organization  of  religious  mysteries,  and 
the  separation,  by  a  sort  of  divine  instinct,  of  the  sacred 
from  the  profane.  Then  came  the  invention  of  architec 
ture  as  a  means  of  providing  convenient  dwellings  and 
necessary  shelter  from  the  inclemencies  and  vicissitudes 
of  the  seasons,  with  all  the  mechanical  arts  connected 
with  it ;  and  lastly,  geometry,  as  a  necessary  science  to 
enable  the  cultivators  of  land  to  measure  and  designate 
the  limits  of  their  possessions.  All  these  are  claimed  as 
peculiar  characteristics  of  Speculative  Masonry,  which 
may  be  considered  as  the  type  of  civilization,  the  former 
bearing  the  same  relation  to  the  profane  world  as  the 
latter  does  to  the  savage  state.  Hence  we  at  once  see 
the  fitness  of  the  symbolism  which  commences  the  aspi 
rant's  upward  progress  in  the  cultivation  of  knowledge 
and  the  search  after  truth,  by  recalling  to  his  mind  the 
condition  of  civilization  and  the  social  union  of  mankind 
as  necessary  preparations  for  the  attainment  of  these 
objects.  In  the  allusions  to  the  officers  of  a  lodge,  and 
the  degrees  of  Masonry  as  explanatory  of  the  organization 
of  our  own  society,  we  clothe  in  our  symbolic  language 
the  history  of  the  organization  of  society. 

Advancing  in  his  progress,  the  candidate  is  invited  to 
contemplate  another  series  of  instructions.  The  human 
senses,  as  the  appropriate  channels  through  which  we 
receive  all  our  ideas  of  perception,  and  which,  therefore, 
constitute  the  most  important  sources  of  our  knowledge, 
are  here  referred  to  as  a  symbol  of  intellectual  cultivation. 
Architecture,  as  the  most  important  of  the  arts  which 
conduce  to  the  comfort  of  mankind,  is  also  alluded  to 
here,  not  simply  because  it  is  so  closely  connected  with 


THE    WINDING    STAIRS.  223 

the  operative  institution  of  Masonry,  but  also  as  the  type 
of  all  the  other  useful  arts.  In  his  second  pause,  in  the 
ascent  of  the  Winding  Stairs,  the  aspirant  is  therefore 
reminded  of  the  necessity  of  cultivating  practical  knowl 
edge. 

So  far,  then,  the  instructions  he  has  received  relate  to 
his  own  condition  in  society  as  a  member  of  the  great 
social  compact,  and  to  his  means  of  becoming,  by  a 
knowledge  of  the  arts  of  practical  life,  a  necessary  and 
useful  member  of  that  society. 

But  his  motto  will  be,  u  Excelsior."  Still  must  he  go 
onward  and  forward.  The  stair  is  still  before  him  ;  its 
summit  is  not  yet  reached,  and  still  further  treasures  of 
wisdom  are  to  be  sought  for,  or  the  reward  will  not  be 
gained,  nor  the  middle  chamber,  the  abiding  place  of 
truth,  be  reached. 

In  his  third  pause,  he  therefore  arrives  at  that  point  in 
which  the  whole  circle  of  human  science  is  to  be  explained. 
Symbols,  we  know,  are  in  themselves  arbitrary  and  of 
conventional  signification,  and  the  complete  circle  of 
human  science  might  have  been  as  well  symbolized  by 
any  other  sign  or  series  of  doctrines  as  by  the  seven 
liberal  arts  and  sciences.  But  Masonry  is  an  institution 
of  the  olden  time  ;  and  this  selection  of  the  liberal  arts 
and  sciences  as  a  symbol  of  the  completion  of  human 
learning  is  one  of  the  most  pregnant  evidences  that  we 
have  of  its  antiquity. 

In  the  seventh  century,  and  for  a  long  time  afterwards, 
the  circle  of  instruction  to  which  all  the  learning  of  the 
most  eminent  schools  and  most  distinguished  philosophers 
was  confined,  was  limited  to  what  were  then  called  the 
liberal  arts  and  sciences,  and  consisted  of  two  branches, 


224  THE    LEGEND    OF 

the  trivium  and  the  quadrivium**  The  trivium  included 
grammar,  rhetoric,  and  logic  ;  the  quadrivium  compre 
hended  arithmetic,  geometry,  music,  and  astronomy. 

"  These  seven  heads,"  says  Enfield,  "  were  supposed  to 
include  universal  knowledge.  He  who  was  master  of 
these  was  thought  to  have  no  need  of  a  preceptor  to  ex 
plain  any  books  or  to  solve  any  questions  which  lay  with 
in  the  compass  of  human  reason,  the  knowledge  of  the 
trivium  having  furnished  him  with  the  key  to  all  lan 
guage,  and  that  of  the  quadrivium  having  opened  to  him 
the  secret  laws  of  nature."  j- 

At  a  period,  says  the  same  writer,  when  few  were  in 
structed  in  the  trivium,  and  very  few  studied  the  quad- 
rivitim,  to  be  master  of  both  was  sufficient  to  complete  the 
character  of  a  philosopher.  The  propriety,  therefore,  of 
adopting  the  seven  liberal  arts  and  sciences  as  a  symbol 
of  the  completion  of  human  learning  is  apparent.  The 
candidate,  having  reached  this  point,  is  now  supposed  to 
have  accomplished  the  task  upon  which  he  had  entered 
—  he  has  reached  the  last  step,  and  is  now  ready  to  re 
ceive  the  full  fruition  of  human  learning. 

So  far,  then,  we  are  able  to  comprehend  the  true 
symbolism  of  the  Winding  Stairs.  They  represent  the 
progress  of  an  inquiring  mind  with  the  toils  and  labors 
of  intellectual  cultivation  and  study,  and  the  preparatory 

*  The  words  themselves  are  purely  classical,  but  the  meanings 
here  given  to  them  are  of  a  mediaeval  or  corrupt  Latinity.  Among 
the  old  Romans,  a  trivium  meant  a  place  where  three  ways  met, 
and  a  quadrivium  where  four,  or  what  we  now  call  a  cross-road. 
When  we  speak  of  the  paths  of  learning,  we  readilj'  discover  the 
origin  of  the  signification  given  by  the  scholastic  philosophers  to 
these  terms. 

t  Hist,  of  Philos.  vol.  ii.  p.  337. 


THE    WINDING    STAIRS. 


225 


acquisition  of  all  human  science,  as  a  preliminary  step  to 
the  attainment  of  divine  truth,  which  it  must  be  remem 
bered  is  always  symbolized  in  Masonry  by  the  WORD. 

Here  let  me  again  allude  to  the  symbolism  of  num 
bers,  which  is  for  the  first  time  presented  to  the  consid 
eration  of  the  masonic  student  in  the  legend  of  the 
Winding  Stairs.  The  theory  of  numbers  as  the  symbols 
of  certain  qualities  was  originally  borrowed  by  the  Ma 
sons  from  the  school  of  Pythagoras.  It  will  be  impossi 
ble,  however,  to  develop  this  doctrine,  in  its  entire  extent, 
on  the  present  occasion,  for  the  numeral  symbolism  of 
Masonry  would  itself  constitute  materials  for  an  ample 
essay.  It  will  be  sufficient  to  advert  to  the  fact  that  the 
total  number  of  the  steps,  amounting  in  all  to  fifteen,  in 
the  American  system,  is  a  significant  symbol.  For  fif 
teen  was  a  sacred  number  among  the  Orientals,  because 
the  letters  of  the  holy  name  JAH,  IT1,  were,  in  their  nu 
merical  value,  equivalent  to  fifteen  ;  and  hence  a  figure  in 
which  the  nine  digits  were  so  disposed  as  to  make  fifteen 
either  way  when  added  together  perpendicularly,  horizon 
tally,  or  diagonally,  constituted  one  of  their  most  sacred 
talismans.*  The  fifteen  steps  in  the  Winding  Stairs  are 
therefore  symbolic  of  the  name  of  God. 

But  we  are  not  yet  done.     It  will  be  remembered  that 

*  Such  a  talisman  was  the  following  figure  :  — 


226  THE    LEGEND    OF 

a  reward  was  promised  for  all  this  toilsome  ascent  of  the 
Winding  Stairs.  Now,  what  are  the  wages  of  a  Specu 
lative  Mason?  Not  money,  nor  corn,  nor  wine,  nor  oil. 
All  these  are  but  symbols.  His  wages  are  TRUTH,  or  that 
approximation  to  it  which  will  be  most  appropriate  to  the 
degree  into  which  he  has  been  initiated.  It  is  one  of  the 
most  beautiful,  but  at  the  same  time  most  abstruse,  doc 
trines  of  the  science  of  masonic  symbolism,  that  the  Ma 
son  is  ever  to  be  in  search  of  truth,  but  is  never  to  find  it. 
This  divine  truth,  the  object  of  all  his  labors,  is  symbol 
ized  by  the  WORD,  for  which  we  all  know  he  can  only 
obtain  a  substitiite;  and  this  is  intended  to  teach  the 
humiliating  but  necessary  lesson  that  the  knowledge  of 
the  nature  of  God  and  of  man's  relation  to  him,  which 
knowledge  constitutes  divine  truth,  can  never  be  acquired 
in  this  life.  It  is  only  when  the  portals  of  the  grave  open 
to  us,  and  give  us  an  entrance  into  a  more  perfect  life,  that 
this  knowledge  is  to  be  attained.  "  Happy  is  the  man," 
says  the  father  of  lyric  poetry,  "  who  descends  beneath  the 
hollow  earth,  having  beheld  these  mysteries  ;  he  knows 
the  end,  he  knows  the  origin  of  life." 

The  Middle  Chamber  is  therefore  symbolic  of  this  life, 
where  the  symbol  only  of  the  word  can  be  given,  where 
the  truth  is  to  be  reached  by  approximation  only,  and  yet 
where  we  are  to  learn  that  that  truth  will  consist  in  a  per 
fect  knowledge  of  the  G.  A.  O.  T.  U.  This  is  the  reward 
of  the  inquiring  Mason  ;  in  this  consist  the  wages  of  a 
Fellow  Craft ;  he  is  directed  to  the  truth,  but  must  travel 
farther  and  ascend  still  higher  to  attain  it. 

It  is,  then,  as  a  symbol,  and  a  symbol  only,  that  we  must 
study  this  beautiful  legend  of  the  Winding  Stairs.  If  we 
attempt  to  adopt  it  as.  an  historical  fact,  the  absurdity  of 


THE    WINDING    STAIRS.  227 

its  details  stares  us  in  the  face,  and  wise  men  will  wonder 
at  our  credulity.  Its  inventors  had  no  desire  thus  to  im 
pose  upon  our  folly  ;  but  offering  it  to  us  as  a  great  philo 
sophical  myth,  they  did  not  for  a  moment  suppose  that 
we  would  pass  over  its  sublime  moral  teachings  to  accept 
the  allegory  as  an  historical  narrative,  without  meaning, 
and  wholly  irreconcilable  with  the  records  of  Scripture, 
and  opposed  by  all  the  principles  of  probability.  To 
suppose  that  eighty  thousand  craftsmen  were  weekly  paid 
in  the  narrow  precincts  of  the  temple  chambers,  is  simply 
to  suppose  an  absurdity.  But  to  believe  that  all  this  pic 
torial  representation  of  an  ascent  by  a  Winding  Staircase 
to  the  place  where  the  wages  of  labor  were  to  be  received, 
was  an  allegory  to  teach  us  the  ascent  of  the  mind  from 
ignorance,  through  all  the  toils  of  study  and  the  difficulties 
of  obtaining  knowledge,  receiving  here  a  little  and  there 
a  little,  adding  something  to  the  stock  of  our  ideas  at  each 
step,  until,  in  the  middle  chamber  of  life,  —  in  the  full 
fruition  of  manhood,  —  the  reward  is  attained,  and  the 
purified  and  elevated  intellect  is  invested  with  the  reward 
in  the  direction  how  to  seek  God  and  God's  truth,  —  to 
believe  this  is  to  believe  and  to  know  the  true  design  of 
Speculative  Masonry,  the  only  design  which  makes  it 
worthy  of  a  good  or  a  wise  man's  study. 

Its  historical  details  are  barren,  but  its  symbols  and  alle 
gories  are  fertile  with  instruction. 


XXVII. 

THE  LEGEND  OF  THE  THIRD  DEGREE. 


most  important  and  significant  of  the  legendaiy 
symbols  of  Freemasonry  is,  undoubtedly,  that 
which  relates  to  the  fate  of  Hiram  Abif,  com 
monly  called,  "  by  way  of  excellence,"  the  Legend  of 
the  Third  Degree. 

The  first  written  record  that  I  have  been  able  to  find 
of  this  legend  is  contained  in  the  second  edition  of  An 
derson's  Constitutions,  published  in  1738,  and  is  in  these 
words  :  — 

"  It  (the  temple)  was  finished  in  the  short  space  of 
seven  years  and  six  mojiths,  to  the  amazement  of  all  the 
world  ;  when  the  cape-stone  was  celebrated  by  the  fra 
ternity  with  great  joy.  But  their  joy  was  soon  inter 
rupted  by  the  sudden  death  of  their  dear  master,  Hiram 
Abif,  whom  they  decently  interred,  in  the  lodge  near  the 
temple,  according  to  ancient  usage."  * 

In  the  next  edition  of  the  same  work,  published  in 
1756,  a  few  additional  circumstances  are  related,  such  as 

*  Anderson's  Constitutions,  2d  ed.  1738,  p.  14. 


THE  LEGEND  OF  THE  THIRD  DEGREE.       22Q 

the  participation  of  King  Solomon  in  the  general  grief, 
and  the  fact  that  the  king  of  Israel  "  ordered  his  ob 
sequies  to  be  conducted  with  great  solemnity  and  decen 
cy."  *  With  these  exceptions,  and  the  citations  of  the 
same  passages,  made  by  subsequent  authors,  the  narrative 
has  always  remained  unwritten,  and  descended,  from  age 
to  age,  through  the  means  of  oral  tradition. 

The  legend  has  been  considered  of  so  much  importance 
that  it  has  been  preserved  in  the  symbolism  of  every 
masonic  rite.  No  matter  what  modifications  or  altera 
tions  the  general  system  may  have  undergone,  —  no  mat 
ter  how  much  the  ingenuity  or  the  imagination  of  the 
founders  of  rites  may  have  perverted  or  corrupted  other 
symbols,  abolishing  the  old  and  substituting  new  ones,  — 
the  legend  of  the  Temple  Builder  has  ever  been  left  un 
touched,  to  present  itself  in  all  the  integrity  of  its  ancient 
mythical  form. 

What,  then,  is  the  signification  of  this  symbol,  so  impor 
tant  and  so  extensively  diffused?  What  interpretation 
can  we  give  to  it  that  will  account  for  its  universal  adop 
tion?  How  is  it  that  it  has  thus  become  so  intimately 
interwoven  with  Freemasonry  as  to  make,  to  all  appear 
ances,  a  part  of  its  very  essence,  and  to  have  been  always 
deemed  inseparable  from  it? 

To  answer  these  questions,  satisfactorily,  it  is  necessary 
to  trace,  in  a  brief  investigation,  the  remote  origin  of  the 
institution  of  Freemasonry,  and  its  connection  with  the 
ancient  systems  of  initiation. 

It  was,  then,  the  great  object  of  all  the  rites  and  mys 
teries  which  constituted  the  "  Spurious  Freemasonry " 

*  Anderson's  Constitutions,  3d  ed.  1756,  p.  24. 


230       THE  LEGEND  OF  THE  THIRD  DEGREE. 

of  antiquity  to  teach  the  consoling  doctrine  of  the  immor 
tality  of  the  soul.*  This  dogma,  shining  as  an  almost 
solitary  beacon-light  in  the  surrounding  gloom  of  pagan 
darkness,  had  undoubtedly  been  received  from  that  ancient 
people  or  priesthood  |  who  practised  what  has  been  called 
the  system  of  u  Pure  Freemasonry,"  and  among  whom 
it  probably  existed  only  in  the  form  of  an  abstract  propo 
sition  or  a  simple  and  unembellished  tradition.  But  in 
the  more  sensual  minds  of  the  pagan  philosophers  and 
mystics,  the  idea,  when  presented  to  the  initiates  in  their 
Mysteries,  was  always  conveyed  in  the  form  of  a  scenic 
representation.!  The  influence,  too,  of  the  early  Sabian 

*  "The  hidden  doctrines  of  the  unity  of  the  Deity  and  the  im 
mortality  of  the  soul  were  originally  in  all  the  Mysteries,  even 
those  of  Cupid  and  Bacchus."  —  WARBURTON,  in  Spence's  Anec 
dotes,  p.  309. 

t  "The  allegorical  interpretation  of  the  myths  has  been,  by 
several  learned  investigators,  especially  by  Creuzer,  connected 
with  the  hypothesis  of  an  ancient  and  highly  instructed  body  of 
priests,  having  their  origin  either  in  Egypt  or  in  the  East,  and 
communicating  to  the  rude  and  barbarous  Greeks  religious,  physi 
cal,  and  historical  knowledge,  under  the  veil  of  symbols." —  GROTE, 
Hist,  of  Greece,  vol.  i.  ch.  xvi.  p.  579.  — And  the  Chevalier  Ram 
say  corroborates  this  theory:  "Vestiges  of  the  most  sublime 
truths  are  to  be  found  in  the  sages  of  all  nations,  times,  and  re 
ligions,  both  sacred  and  profane,  and  these  vestiges  are  emana 
tions  of  the  antediluvian  and  noevian  tradition,  more  or  less  dis 
guised  and  adulterated." — Philosophical  Principles  of  Natural  and 
Revealed  Religion  unfolded  in  a  Geometrical  Order,  vol.  I,  p.  iv. 

|  Of  this  there  is  abundant  evidence  in  all  the  ancient  and 
modern  writers  on  the  Mysteries.  Apuleius,  cautiously  describing 
his  initiation  into  the  Mysteries  of  Isis,  says.  "  I  approached  the 
confines  of  death,  and  having  trod  on  the  threshold  of  Proserpine, 
I  returned  therefrom,  being  borne  through  all  the  elements.  At 
midnight  I  saw  the  sun  shining  with  its  brilliant  light;  and  I 
approached  the  presence  of  the  gods  beneath,  and  the  gods  of 
heaven,  and  stood  near  and  worshipped  them."  —  Metam.  lib  *i. 
The  context  shows  that  all  this  was  a  scenic  representation. 


THE    LEGEND    OF    THE    THIRD    DEGREE.  231 

worship  of  the  sun  and  heavenly  bodies,  in  which  the 
solar  orb  was  adored,  on  its  resurrection,  each  morning, 
from  the  apparent  death  of  its  evening  setting,  caused 
this  rising  sun  to  be  adopted  in  the  more  ancient  Myste 
ries  as  a  symbol  of  the  regeneration  of  the  soul. 

Thus  in  the  Egyptian  Mysteries  we  find  a  representa 
tion  of  the  death  and  subsequent  regeneration  of  Osiris ; 
in  the  Phoenician,  of  Adonis  ;  in  the  Syrian,  of  Dionysus  ; 
in  all  of  which  the  scenic  apparatus  of  initiation  was 
intended  to  indoctrinate  the  candidate  into  the  dogma  of 
a  future  life. 

It  will  be  sufficient  here  to  refer  simply  to  the  fact,  that 
through  the  instrumentality  of  the  Tyrian  workmen  at  the 
temple  of  King  Solomon,  the  spurious  and  pure  branches 
of  the  masonic  system  were  united  at  Jerusalem,  and  that 
the  same  method  of  scenic  representation  was  adopted  by 
the  latter  from  the  former,  and  the  narrative  of  the  tem 
ple  builder  substituted  for  that  of  Dionysus,  which  was 
the  myth  peculiar  to  the  mysteries  practised  ry  the 
Tyrian  workmen. 

The  idea,  therefore,  proposed  to  be  communicated  in 
the  myth  of  the  ancient  Mysteries  was  the  same  as  that 
which  is  now  conveyed  in  the  masonic  legend  of  the  Third 
Degree. 

Hence,  then,  Hiram  Abif  is,  in  the  masonic  system,  the 
symbol  of  human  nature,  as  developed  in  the  life  here 
and  the  life  to  come ;  and  so,  while  the  temple  was,  as  I 
have  heretofore  shown,  the  visible  symbol  of  the  world, 
its  builder  became  the  mythical  symbol  of  man,  the 
dweller  and  worker  in  that  world. 

Now,  is  not  this  symbolism  evident  to  every  reflective 
mind? 


232       THE  LEGEND  OF  THE  THIRD  DEGREE. 

Man,  setting  forth  on  the  voyage  of  life,  with  faculties 
and  powers  fitting  him  for  the  due  exercise  of  the  high 
duties  to  whose  performance  he  has  been  called,  holds, 
if  he  be  "  a  curious  and  cunning  workman,"  *  skilled 
in  all  moral  and  intellectual  purposes  (and  it  is  only 
of  such  men  that  the  temple  builder  can  be  the  symbol), 
within  the  grasp  of  his  attainment  the  knowledge  of 
all  that  divine  truth  imparted  to  him  as  the  heirloom 
of  his  race  —  that  race  to  whom  it  has  been  granted  to 
look,  with  exalted  countenance,  on  high  ;  f  which  divine 
truth  is  symbolized  by  the  WORD. 

Thus  provided  with  the  word  of  life,  he  occupies  his 
time  in  the  construction  of  a  spiritual  temple,  and  travels 
onward  in  the  faithful  discharge  of  all  his  duties,  laying 
down  his  designs  upon  the  trestle-board  of  the  future  and 
invoking  the  assistance  and  direction  of  God. 

But  is  his  path  always  over  flowery  meads  and  through 
pleasant  groves?  Is  there  no  hidden  foe  to  obstruct  his 
progress?  Is  all  before  him  clear  and  calm,  with  joyous 
sunshine  and  refreshing  zephyrs?  Alas!  not  so.  "  Man 
is  born  to  trouble,  as  the  sparks  fly  upward."  At  every 

*  Aish  hakam  iodea  binah,  "  a  cunning  man,  endued  with  under 
standing,"  is  the  description  given  by  the  king  of  Tyre  of  Hiram 
Abif.  See  2  Chron.  ii.  13.  It  is  needless  to  say  that  "cunning" 
is  a  good  old  Saxon  word  meaning  skilful. 

f  "  Pronaque  cum  spectent  animalia  caetera  terrain; 
Os  homini  sublime  dedit :  coelumque  tueri 
Jussit,  et  erectos  ad  sidera  tollere  vultus." 

OVID,  Met.  i.  84. 

"Thus,  while  the  mute  creation  downward  bend 
Their  sight,  and  to  their  earthly  mother  tend, 
Man  looks  aloft,  and  with  erected  eyes 
Beholds  his  own  hereditary  skies." 

DRYDEN. 


THE    LEGEND    OF    THE    THIRD    DEGREE.  233 

"  gate  of  life  "  —  as  the  Orientalists  have  beautifully  called 
the  different  ages  —  he  is  beset  by  peril.  Temptations 
allure  his  youth,  misfortunes  darken  the  pathway  of  his 
manhood,  and  his  old  age  is  encumbered  with  infirmity 
and  disease.  But  clothed  in  the  armor  of  virtue  he  may 
resist  the  temptation  ;  he  may  cast  misfortunes  aside,  and 
rise  triumphantly  above  them  ;  but  to  the  last,  the  direst, 
the  most  inexorable  foe  of  his  race,  he  must  eventually 
yield  ;  and  stricken  down  by  death,  he  sinks  prostrate  into 
the  grave,  and  is  btiried  in  the  rubbish  of  his  sin  and 
human  frailty. 

Here,  then,  in  Masonry,  is  what  was  called  the  apha- 
nism  *  in  the  ancient  Mysteries.  The  bitter  but  necessary 
lesson  of  death  has  been  imparted.  The  living  soul, 
with  the  lifeless  body  which  encased  it,  has  disappeared, 
and  can  nowhere  be  found.  All  is  darkness  —  confusion 
—  despair.  Divine  truth  —  the  WORD  —  for  a  time  is 
lost,  and  the  Master  Mason  may  now  say,  in  the  language 
of  Hutchinson,  "  I  prepare  my  sepulchre.  I  make  my 
grave  in  the  pollution  of  the  earth.  I  am  under  the 
shadow  of  death." 

But  if  the  mythic  symbolism  ended  here,  with  this 
lesson  of  death,  then  were  the  lesson  incomplete.  That 
teaching  would  be  vain  and  idle  —  nay,  more,  it  would  be 
corrupt  and  pernicious  —  which  should  stop  short  of  the 
conscious  and  innate  instinct  for  another  existence.  And 
hence  the  succeeding  portions  of  the  legend  are  intended 
to  convey  the  sublime  symbolism  of  a  resurrection  from 
the  grave  and  a  new  birth  into  a  future  life.  The  discov- 


,  disappearance,  destruction,  a  perishing,  death, 
from    &(pui'l'C(i),   to  remove    from  one's  view,    to  conceal,"   &c.  — 


Schrevel.  Lex. 


234       THE  LEGEND  OF  THE  THIRD  DEGREE. 

ery  of  the  body,  which,  in  the  initiations  of  the  ancient 
Mysteries,  was  called  the  euresis,*  and  its  removal,  from 
the  polluted  grave  into  which  it  had  been  cast,  to  an  hon 
ored  and  sacred  place  within  the  precincts  of  the  temple, 
are  all  profoundly  and  beautifully  symbolic  of  that  great 
truth,  the  discovery  of  which  was  the  object  of  all  the 
ancient  initiations,  as  it  is  almost  the  whole  design  of 
Freemasonry,  namely,  that  when  man  shall  have  passed 
the  gates  of  life  and  have  yielded  to  the  inexorable  fiat 
of  death,  he  shall  then  (not  in  the  pictured  ritual  of  an 
earthly  lodge,  but  in  the  realities  of  that  eternal  one,  of 
which  the  former  is  but  an  antitype)  be  raised,  at  the 
omnific  word  of  the  Grand  Master  of  the  Universe,  from 
time  To  eternity ;  from  the  tomb  of  corruption  to  the 
chambers  of  hope  ;  from  the  darkness  of  death  to  the 
celestial  beams  of  life  ;  and  that  his  disembodied  spirit 
shall  be  conveyed  as  near  to  the  holy  of  holies  of  the 
divine  presence  as  humanity  can  ever  approach  to  Deity. 

Such  I  conceive  to  be  the  true  interpretation  of  the 
symbolism  of  the  legend  of  the  Third  Degree. 

I  have  said  that  this  mythical  history  of  the  temple 
builder  was  universal  in  all  nations  and  all  rites,  and  that 
in  no  place  and  at  no  time  had  it,  by  alteration,  diminu 
tion,  or  addition,  acquired  any  essentially  new  or  different 
form  :  the  myth  has  always  remained  the  same. 

But  it  is  not  so  with  its  interpretation.  That  which  I 
have  just  given,  and  which  I  conceive  to  be  the  correct 
one,  has  been  very  generally  adopted  by  the  Masons  of 
this  country.  But  elsewhere,  and  by  various  writers,  other 
interpretations  have  been  made,  very  different  in  their 

*  "  EvQEGig,  a  finding,  invention,  discovery."  —  Schrevel,  Lex. 


THE    LEGEND    OF    THE    THIRD    DEGREE.  235 

character,  although  always  agreeing  in  retaining  the  gen 
eral  idea  of  a  resurrection  or  regeneration,  or  a  restoration 
of  something  from  an  inferior  to  a  higher  sphere  or  func 
tion. 

Thus  some  of  the  earlier  continental  writers  have  sup 
posed  the  myth  to  have  been  a  symbol  of  the  destruction 
of  the  Order  of  the  Templars,  looking  upon  its  restora 
tion  to  its  original  wealth  and  dignities  as  being  propheti 
cally  symbolized. 

In  some  of  the  high  philosophical  degrees  it  is  taught 
that  the  whole  legend  refers  to  the  sufferings  and  death, 
with  the  subsequent  resurrection,  of  Christ.* 

Hutchinson,  who  has  the  honor  of  being  the  earliest 
philosophical  writer  on  Freemasonry  in  England,  sup 
poses  it  to  have  been  intended  to  embody  the  idea  of  the 
decadence  of  the  Jewish  religion,  and  the  substitution  of 
the  Christian  in  its  place  and  on  its  ruins.f 

Dr.  Oliver  —  "  clarum  et  venerabile  nomeu  " — thinks 
that  it  is  typical  of  the  murder  of  Abel  by  Cain,  and  that 
it  symbolically  refers  to  the  universal  death  of  our  race 
through  Adam,  and  its  restoration  to  life  in  the  Redeemer,]: 

*  A  French  writer  of  the  last  century,  speaking  of  the  degree 
of  "Tres  Parfait  Maitre,"  says,  "  C'est  ici  qu'on  voit  reellement 
qu'Hiram  n'a  ete  que  le  type  de  Jesus  Christ,  que  le  temple  et  les 
autres  symboles  ma^onniquessontdes  allegories  relatives  a  1'Eglise, 
a  la  Foi,  et  aux  bonnes  moeurs."  —  Originc  et  Objct  dc  la  Franche- 
ma$onnerie,  -par  le  F.  B.  Paris,  1774. 

t  "  This  our  order  is  a  positive  contradiction  to  the  Judaic 
blindness  and  infidelity,  and  testifies  our  faith  concerning  the  res 
urrection  of  the  body."  —  HUTCHINSON,  Spirit  of  Masonry,  lect. 
ix.  p.  101.  — The  whole  lecture  is  occupied  in  advancing  and  sup 
porting  his  peculiar  theory. 

\  "  Thus,  then,  it  appears  that  the  historical  reference  of  the 
legend  of  Speculative  Freemasonry,  in  all  ages  of  the  world,  was  — 


236  THE    LEGEND    OF    THE    THIRD    DEGREE. 

according  to  the  expression  of  the  apostle,  "  As  in  Adam 
we  all  died,  so  in  Christ  we  all  live." 

Ragon  makes  Hiram  a  symbol  of  the  sun  shorn  of  its 
vivifying  rays  and  fructifying  power  by  the  three  winter 
months,  and  its  restoration  to  generative  heat  by  the  sea 
son  of  spring.* 

And,  finally,  Des  Etangs,  adopting,  in  part,  the  inter 
pretation  of  Ragon,  adds  to  it  another,  which  he  calls  the 
moral  symbolism  of  the  legend,  and  supposes  that  Hiram 
is  no  other  than  eternal  reason,  whose  enemies  are  the 
vices  that  deprave  and  destroy  humanity. f 

To  each  of  these  interpretations  it  seems  to  me  that 
there  are  important  objections,  though  perhaps  to  some 
less  so  than  to  others. 

As  to  those  who  seek  for  an  astronomical  interpretation 
of  the  legend,  in  which  the  annual  changes  of  the  sun  are 
symbolized,  while  the  ingenuity  with  which  they  press 
their  argument  cannot  but  be  admired,  it  is  evident  that, 
by  such  an  interpretation,  they  yield  all  that  Masonry  has 

to  our  death  in  Adam  and  life  in  Christ.  What,  then,  was  the 
origin  of  our  tradition  ?  Or,  in  other  words,  to  what  particular 
incident  did  the  legend  of  initiation  refer  before  the  flood?  I  con 
ceive  it  to  have  been  the  offering  and  assassination  of  Abel  by  his 
brother  Cain  ;  the  escape  of  the  murderer;  the  discovery  of  the 
body  by  his  disconsolate  parents,  and  its  subsequent  interment, 
under  a  certain  belief  of  its  final  resurrection  from  the  dead,  and 
of  the  detection  and  punishment  of  Cain  by  divine  vengeance."  — 
OLIVER,  Historical  Landmarks  of  Freemasonry,  vol.  ii.  p.  171. 

*  "  Le  grade  de  Maitre  va  done  nous  retracer  allegoriquement 
la  mort  du  dieu-lumicre  —  mourant  en  hiver  pour  reparaitre  et 
ressusciter  au  printemps."  —  RAGON,  Cours  Philos.  ct  In!erp.  dcs 
Init.  p.  158. 

t  "  Dans  1'ordre  moral,  Hiram  n'est  autre  chose  que  la  rai^on 
eternelle,  parqui  tout  estpondere,  regie,  conserve."  —  DES  ETANGS, 
CEuvres  Ma<;onnique$,  p.  90. 


THE  LEGEND  OF  THE  THIRD  DEGREE.       237 

gained  of  religious  development  in  past  ages,  and  fall 
back  upon  that  corruption  and  perversion  of  Sabaism 
from  which  it  was  the  object,  even  of  the  Spurious  Free 
masonry  of  antiquity,  to  rescue  its  disciples. 

The  Templar  interpretation  of  the  myth  must  at  once 
be  discarded  if  we  would  avoid  the  difficulties  of  anach 
ronism,  unless  we  deny  that  the  legend  existed  before 
the  abolition  of  the  Order  of  Knights  Templar,  and  such 
denial  would  be  fatal  to  the  antiquity  of  Freemasonry.* 

And  as  to  the  adoption  of  the  Christian  reference,  Hutch- 
inson,  and  after  him  Oliver,  profoundly  philosophical  as 
are  the  masonic  speculations  of  both,  have,  I  am  con 
strained  to  believe,  fallen  into  a  great  error  in  calling  the 
Master  Mason's  degree  a  Christian  institution.  It  is  true 
that  it  embraces  within  its  scheme  the  great  truths  of 
Christianity  upon  the  subject  of  the  immortality  of  the 
soul  and  the  resurrection  of  the  body  ;  but  this  was  to  be 
presumed,  because  Freemasonry  is  truth,  and  Christianity 
is  truth,  and  all  truth  must  be  identical.  But  the  origin 
of  each  is  different;  their  histories  are  dissimilar.  The 
institution  of  Freemasonry  preceded  the  advent  of  Chris 
tianity.  Its  symbols  and  its  legends  are  derived  from  the 
Solomonic  temple,  and  from  the  people  even  anterior  to 
that.  Its  religion  comes  from  the  ancient  priesthood.  Its 
faith  was  that  primitive  one  of  Noah  and  his  immediate 
descendants.  If  Masonry  were  simply  a  Christian  insti 
tution,  the  Jew  and  the  Moslem,  the  Brahmin  and  the 
Buddhist,  could  not  conscientiously  partake  of  its  illumina- 

*  With  the  same  argument  would  I  meet  the  hypothesis  that 
Hiram  was  the  representative  of  Charles  I.  of  England  —  an 
hypothesis  now  so  generally  abandoned,  that  I  have  not  thought 
it  worth  noticing  in  the  text. 


238       THE  LEGEND  OF  THE  THIRD  DEGREE. 

tion  ;  but  its  universality  is  its  boast.  In  its  language 
citizens  of  every  nation  may  converse  ;  at  its  altar  men 
of  all  religions  may  kneel ;  to  its  creed  disciples  of  every 
faith  may  subscribe. 

Yet  it  cannot  be  denied,  that  since  the  advent  of  Chris 
tianity  a  Christian  element  has  been  almost  imperceptibly 
infused  into  the  masonic  system,  at  least  among  Christian 
Masons.  This  has  been  a  necessity  ;  for  it  is  the  tendency 
of  every  predominant  religion  to  pervade  with  its  influ 
ences  all  that  surrounds  it,  or  is  about  it,  whether  religious, 
political,  or  social.  This  arises  from  a  need  of  the  human 
heart.  To  the  man  deeply  imbued  with  the  spirit  of  his 
religion  there  is  an  almost  unconscious  desire  to  accom 
modate  and  adapt  all  the  business  and  the  amusements 
of  life,  the  labors  and  the  employments  of  his  every-day 
existence,  to  the  indwelling  faith  of  his  soul. 

The  Christian  Mason,  therefore,  while  acknowledging 
and  justly  appreciating  the  great  doctrines  taught  in  Ma 
sonry,  and  while  grateful  that  these  doctrines  were  pre 
served  in  the  bosom  of  his  ancient  order  at  a  time  when 
they  were  unknown  to  the  multitudes  of  the  surrounding 
nations,  is  still  anxious  to  give  to  them  a  Christian 
character,  to  invest  them,  in  some  measure,  with  the 
peculiarities  of  his  own  creed,  and  to  bring  the  interpre 
tation  of  their  symbolism  more  nearly  home  to  his  own 
religious  sentiments. 

The  feeling  is  an  instinctive  one,  belonging  to  the 
noblest  aspirations  of  our  human  nature ;  and  hence  we 
find  Christian  masonic  writers  indulging  in  it  almost  to 
an  unwarrantable  excess,  and  by  the  extent  of  their  secta 
rian  interpretations  materially  affecting  the  cosmopolitan 
character  of  the  institution. 


THE    LEGEND    OF    THE    THIRD    DEGREE.  239 

This  tendency  to  Christianization  has,  in  some  instances, 
been  so  universal,  and  has  prevailed  for  so  long  a  period, 
that  certain  symbols  and  myths  have  been,  in  this  way,  so 
deeply  and  thoroughly  imbued  with  the  Christian  element 
as  to  leave  those  who  have  not  penetrated  into  the  cause 
of  this  peculiarity,  in  doubt  whether  they  should  attrib 
ute  to  the  symbol  an  ancient  or  a  modern  and  Christian 
origin. 

As  an  illustration  of  the  idea  here  advanced,  and  as  a 
remarkable  example  of  the  result  of  a  gradually  Chris 
tianized  interpretation  of  a  masonic  symbol,  I  will  refer 
to  the  subordinate  myth  (subordinate,  I  mean,  to  the  great 
legend  of  the  Builder),  which  relates  the  circumstances 
connected  with  the  grave  upon  "  the  brow  of  a  small  hill 
near  Mount  Moriah" 

Now,  the  myth  or  legend  of  a  grave  is  a  legitimate  de 
duction  from  the  symbolism  of  the  ancient  Spurious  Ma 
sonry.  It  is  the  analogue  of  the  Pastas,  Couch,  or  Coffin, 
which  was  to  be  found  in  the  ritual  of  all  the  pagan  Mys 
teries.  In  all  these  initiations,  the  aspirant  was  placed 
in  a  cell  or  upon  a  couch,  in  darkness,  and  for  a  period 
varying,  in  the  different  rites,  from  the  three  days  of  the 
Grecian  Mysteries  to  the  fifty  of  the  Persian.  This  cell 
or  couch,  technically  called  the  "  pastes,"  was  adopted 
as  a  symbol  of  the  being  whose  death  and  resurrection 
or  apotheosis,  was  represented  in  the  legend. 

The  learned  Faber  says  that  this  ceremony  was  doubt 
less  the  same  as  the  descent  into  Hades,*  and  that,  when 
the  aspirant  entered  into  the  mystic  cell,  he  was  directed 

*  "The  initiation  into  the  Mysteries,"  he  says,  "  scenically  rep 
resented  the  mythic  descent  into  Hades  and  the  return  from 
thence  to  the  light  of  day;  by  which  was  meant  the  entrance  into 


240      THE  LEGEND  OF  THE  THIRD  DEGREE. 

to  lay  himself  down  upon  the  bed  which  shadowed  out 
the  tomb  of  the  Great  Father,  or  Noah,  to  whom,  it  will 
be  recollected,  that  Faber  refers  all  the  ancient  rites. 
"  While  stretched  upon  the  holy  couch,"  he  continues  to 
remark,  "  in  imitation  of  his  figurative  deceased  proto 
type,  he  was  said  to  be  wrapped  in  the  deep  sleep  of 
death.  His  resurrection  from  the  bed  was  his  restoration 
to  life  or  his  regeneration  into  a  new  world." 

Now,  it  is  easy  to  see  how  readily  such  a  symbolism 
would  be  seized  by  the  Temple  Masons,  and  appropriated 
at  once  to  the  grave  at  the  brow  of  the  hill.  At  first,  the 
interpretation,  like  that  from  which  it  had  been  derived, 
would  be  cosmopolitan  ;  it  would  fit  exactly  to  the  gen 
eral  dogmas  of  the  resurrection  of  the  boclv  and  the  im 
mortality  of  the  soul. 

But  on  the  advent  of  Christianity,  the  spirit  of  the  new 
religion  being  infused  into  the  old  masonic  system,  the 
whole  symbolism  of  the  grave  was  affected  by  it.  The 
same  interpretation  of  a  resurrection  or  restoration  to  life, 
derived  from  the  ancient  "  pastos,"  was,  it  is  true,  pre 
served  ;  but  the  facts  that  Christ  himself  had  come  to 
promulgate  to  the  multitudes  the  same  consoling  dogma, 
and  that  Mount  Calvary,  k'  the  place  of  a  skull,"  was  the 
spot  where  the  Redeemer,  by  his  own  death  and  resur- 

the  Ark  and  the  subsequent  liberation  from  its  dark  enclosure. 
Such  Mvsteries  were  established  in  almost  every  part  of  the  pagan 
world;  and  those  of  Ceres  were  substantially  the  same  as  the 
Orgies  of  Adonis,  Osiris,  Hu,  Mithras,  and  the  Cabin.  The}'  all 
equally  related  to  the  allegorical  disappearance,  or  death,  or 
descent  of  the  great  father  at  their  commencement,  and  to  his 
invention,  or  revival,  or  return  from  Hades,  at  their  conclusion." 
—  Origin  of  Pagan  Idolatry,  vol.  iv.  b.  iv.  ch.  v.  p.  384. — But 
this  Arkite  theory,  as  it  is  called,  has  not  met  with  the  general  ap 
probation  of  subsequent  writers. 


THE  LEGEND  OF  THE  THIRD  DEGREE.       24! 

rection,  had  testified  the  truth  of  the  doctrine,  at  once 
suggested  to  the  old  Christian  Masons  the  idea  of  Chris 
tianizing  the  ancient  symbol. 

Let  us  now  examine  briefly  how  that  idea  has  been  at 
length  developed. 

In  the  first  place,  it  is  necessary  to  identify  the  spot 
where  the  u  newly-made  grave "  was  discovered  with 
Mount  Calvary,  the  place  of  the  sepulchre  of  Christ. 
This  can  easily  be  done  by  a  very  few  but  striking  analo 
gies,  which  will,  I  conceive,  carry  conviction  to  any 
thinking  mind. 

1.  Mount  Calvary  was  a  small  hill.* 

2.  It  was  situated  in  a  westward  direction  from  the 
temple,  and  near  Mount  Moriah. 

3.  It  was  on  the  direct  road  from  Jerusalem  to  Joppa, 
and  is  thus  the  very  spot  where  a  weary  brother,  travel 
ling  on  that  road,  would  find  it  convenient  to  sit  down  to 
rest  and  refresh  himself.^ 

*  Mount  Calvary  is  a  small  hill  or  eminence,  situated  in  a 
westerly  direction  from  that  Mount  Moriah  on  which  the  temple 
of  Solomon  was  built.  It  was  originally  a  hillock  of  notable 
eminence,  but  has,  in  modern  times,  been  greatly  reduced  by  the 
excavations  made  in  it  for  the  construction  of  the  Church  of  the 
Holy  Sepulchre.  Buckingham,  in  his  Palestine,  p.  283,  says, 
"  The  present  rock,  called  Calvary,  and  enclosed  within  the  Church 
of  the  Holy  Sepulchre,  bears  marks,  in  every  part  that  is  naked, 
of  its  having  been  a  round  nodule  of  rock  standing  above  the  com 
mon  level  of  the  surface." 

t  Dr.  Beard,  in  the  art.  "  Golgotha,'*  in  Kitto's  En  eye.  of  Bib. 
Lit.,  reasons  in  a  similar  method  as  to  the  place  of  the  crucifixion, 
and  supposing  that  the  soldiers,  from  the  fear  of  a  popular  tumult, 
would  hurry  Jesus  to  the  most  convenient  spot  for  execution,  says, 
"  Then  the  road  to  Joppa  or  Damascus  would  be  most  convenient, 
and  no  spot  in  the  vicinity  would  probably  be  so  suitable  as  the 
slight  rounded  elevation  which  bore  the  name  of  Calvary." 

16 


242  THE    LEGEND    OF    THE    THIRD    DEGREE. 

4.  It  was  outside  the  gate  of  the  temple. 

5.  It  has  at  least  one  cleft  in  the  rock,  or  cave,  which 
was  the  place  which  subsequently  became  the  sepulchre 
of  our  Lord.     But  this  coincidence   need  scarcely  to  be 
insisted    on,  since    the   whole    neighborhood   abounds  in 
rocky  clefts,  which    meet  at  once   the   conditions   of  the 
masonic  legend. 

But  to  bring  this  analogical  reasoning  before  the  mind 
in  a  more  expressive  mode,  it  may  be  observed  that  if  a 
party  of  persons  were  to  start  forth  from  the  temple  at 
Jerusalem,  and  travel  in  a  westward  direction  towards  the 
port  of  Joppa,  Mount  Calvary  would  be  the  first  hill  met 
with  ;  and  as  it  may  possibly  have  been  used  as  a  place 
of  sepulture,  which  its  name  of  Golgotha  *  seems  to  im 
port,  we  may  suppose  it  to  have  been  the  very  spot  alluded 
to  in  the  Third  Degree,  as  the  place  where  the  craftsmen, 
on  their  way  to  Joppa,  discovered  the  evergreen  acacia. 

Having  thus  traced  the  analogy,  let  us  look  a  little  to 
the  symbolism. 

Mount  Calvary  has  always  retained  an  important  place 
in  the  legendary  history  of  Freemasonry,  and  there  are 
many  traditions  connected  with  it  that  are  highly  interest 
ing  in  thsir  import. 

One  of  these  traditions  is,  that  it  was  the  burial-place 
of  Adam,  in  order,  says  the  old  legend,  that  where  he 
lay,  who  effected  the  ruin  of  mankind,  there  also  might 
the  Savior  of  the  world  suffer,  die,  and  be  buried.  Sir 
R.  Torkington,  who  published  a  pilgrimage  to  Jerusalem 
in  1517,  says  that  "  under  the  Mount  of  Calvary  is  another 

*  Some  have  supposed  that  it  was  so  called  because  it  was  the 
place  of  public  execution.  Gulgoleth  in  Hebrew,  or  gogultho  in 
Syriac,  means  a  skull. 


THE  LEGEND  OF  THE  THIRD  DEGREE.       243 

chapel  of  our  Blessed  Lady  and  St.  John  the  Evangelist, 
that  was  called  Golgotha ;  and  there,  right  under  the 
mortise  of  the  cross,  was  found  the  head  of  our  forefather, 
Adam."  *  Golgotha,  it  will  be  remembered,  means,  in 
Hebrew,  u  the  place  of  a  skull ;"  and  there  may  be  some 
connection  between  this  tradition  and  the  name  of  Gol 
gotha,  by  which  the  Evangelists  inform  us,  that  in  the 
time  of  Christ  Mount  Calvary  was  known.  Calvary,  or 
Calvaria,  has  the  same  signification  in  Latin. 

Another  tradition  states,  that  it  was  in  the  bowels  of 
Mount  Calvary  that  Enoch  erected  his  nine-arched  vault, 
and  deposited  on  the  foundation-stone  of  Masonry  that 
Ineffable  Name,  whose  investigation,  as  a  symbol  of 
divine  truth,  is  the  great  object  of  Speculative  Masonry. 

A  third  tradition  details  the  subsequent  discovery  of 
Enoch's  deposit  by  King  Solomon,  whilst  making  exca 
vations  in  Mount  Calvary,  during  the  building  of  the 
temple. 

On  this  hallowed  spot  was  Christ  the  Redeemer  slain 
and  buried.  It  was  there  that,  rising  on  the  third  day 
from  his  sepulchre,  he  gave,  by  that  act,  the  demonstra 
tive  evidence  of  the  resurrection  of  the  body  and  the 
immortality  of  the  soul. 

And  it  was  on  this  spot  that  the  same  great  lesson 
was  taught  in  Masonry  —  the  same  sublime  truth  —  the 
development  of  which  evidently  forms  the  design  of  the 
Third  or  Master  Mason's  degree. 

There  is  in  these  analogies  a  sublime  beauty  as  well  as 
a  wonderful  coincidence  between  the  two  systems  of 
Masonry  and  Christianity,  that  must,  at  an  early  period, 
have  attracted  the  attention  of  the  Christian  Masons. 

*  Quoted  in  Oliver,  Landmarks,  vol.  i.  p.  587,  note. 


244  THE    LEGEND    OF   THE    THIRD    DEGREE. 

Mount  Calvary  is  consecrated  to  the  Christian  as  the 
place  where  his  crucified  Lord  gave  the  last  great  proof 
of  the  second  life,  and  fully  established  the  doctrine  of  the 
resurrection  which  he  had  come  to  teach.  It  was  the 
sepulchre  of  him 

"  Who  captive  led  captivity, 
Who  robbed  the  grave  of  victory, 
And  took  the  sting  from  death." 

It  is  consecrated  to  the  Mason,  also,  as  the  scene  of  the 
euresis,  the  place  of  the  discovery,  where  the  same  con 
soling  doctrines  of  the  resurrection  of  the  body  and  the 
immortality  of  the  soul  are  shadowed  forth  in  profoundly 
symbolic  forms. 

These  great  truths  constitute  the  very  essence  of  Chris 
tianity,  in  which  it  differs  from  and  excels  all  religious 
systems  that  preceded  it ;  they  constitute,  also,  the  end, 
aim,  and  object  of  all  Freemasonry,  but  more  especially 
that  of  the  Third  Degree,  whose  peculiar  legend,  symboli 
cally  considered,  teaches  nothing  more  nor  less  than  that 
there  is  an  immortal  and  better  part  within  us,  which,  as 
an  emanation  from  that  divine  spirit  which  pervades  all 
nature,  can  never  die. 

The  identification  of  the  spot  on  which  this  divine  truth 
was  promulgated  in  both  systems  —  the  Christian  and 
the  Masonic — affords  an  admirable  illustration  of  the 
readiness  with  which  the  religious  spirit  of  the  former 
may  be  infused  into  the  symbolism  of  the  latter.  And 
hence  Hutchinson,  thoroughly  imbued  with  these  Chris 
tian  views  of  Masonry,  has  called  the  Master  Mason's 
order  a  Christian  degree,  and  thus  Christianizes  the  whole 
symbolism  of  its  mythical  history. 


THE    LEGEND    OF    THE    THIRD    DEGREE.  245 

"  The  Great  Father  of  all,  commiserating  the  miseries 
of  the  world,  sent  his  only  Son,  who  was  innocence  itself, 
to  teach  the  doctrine  of  salvation  —  by  whom  man  was 
raised  from  the  death  of  sin  unto  the  life  of  righteousness 
—  from  the  tomb  of  corruption  unto  the  chamber  of  hope  — 
from  the  darkness  of  despair  to  the  celestial  beams  of  faith  ; 
and  not  only  working  for  us  this  redemption,  but  making 
with  us  the  covenant  of  regeneration  ;  whence  we  are 
become  the  children  of  the  Divinity,  and  inheritors  of  the 
realms  of  heaven. 

"  We,  Masons,  describing  the  deplorable  estate  of  re 
ligion  under  the  Jewish  law,  speak  in  figures  :  '  Her  tomb 
was  in  the  -rubbish  and  filth  cast  forth  of  the  temple,  and 
acacia  wove  its  branches  over  her  monuments;  akakia 
being  the  Greek  word  for  innocence,  or  being  free  from 
sin  ;  implying  that  the  sins  and  corruptions  of  the  old  law, 
and  devotees  of  the  Jewish  altar,  had  hid  Religion  from 
those  who  sought  her,  and  she  was  only  to  be  found  where 
innocence  survived,  and  under  the  banner  of  the  Divine 
Lamb,  and,  as  to  ourselves,  professing  that  we  were  to  be 
distinguished  by  our  Acacy,  or  as  true  Acacians  in  our 
religious  faiths  and  tenets. 

"  The  acquisition  of  the  doctrine  of  redemption  is  ex 
pressed  in  the  typical  character  of  Huramen  (I  have 
found  it. —  Greek},  and  by  the  applications  of  that  name 
with  Masons,  it  is  implied  that  we  have  discovered  the 
knowledge  of  God  and  his  salvation,  and  have  been  re 
deemed  from  the  death  of  sin  and  the  sepulchre  of  pollu 
tion  and  unrighteousness. 

"  Thus  the  Master  Mason  represents  a  man,  under  the 
Christian  doctrine,  saved  from  the  grave  of  iniquity  and 
raised  to  the  faith  of  salvation." 


246  THE    LEGEND    OF    THE    T  HIRD    DEGREE. 

It  is  in  this  way  that  Masonry  has,  by  a  sort  of  inevita 
ble  process  (when  we  look  to  the  religious  sentiment  of 
the  interpreters),  been  Christianized  by  some  of  the  most 
illustrious  and  learned  writers  on  masonic  science  —  by 
such  able  men  as  Hutchinson  and  Oliver  in  England,  and 
by  Harris,  by  Scott,  by  Salem  Towne,  and  by  several  oth 
ers  in  this  country. 

I  do  not  object  to  the  system  when  the  interpretation 
is  not  strained,  but  is  plausible,  consistent,  and  productive 
of  the  same  results  as  in  the  instance  of  Mount  Calvary : 
all  that  I  contend  for  is,  that  such  interpretations  are 
modern,  and  that  they  do  not  belong  to,  although  they 
may  often  be  deduced  from,  the  ancient  system. 

But  the  true  ancient  interpretation  of  the  legend,  —  the 
universal  masonic  one,  —  for  all  countries  and  all  ages, 
undoubtedly  was,  that  the  fate  of  the  temple  builder  is  but 
figurative  of  the  pilgrimage  of  man  on  earth,  through 
trials  and  temptations,  through  sin  and  sorrow,  until  his 
eventual  fall  beneath  the  blow  of  death  and  his  final  and 
glorious  resurrection  to  another  and  an  eternal  life. 


XXVIII. 

THE   SPRIG  OF  ACACIA. 

fNTIMATELY  connected  with  the  legend  of  the 
third  degree  is  the  mythical  history  of  the  Sprig 
of  Acacia,  which  we  are  now  to  consider. 

There  is  no  symbol  more  interesting  to  the 
masonic  student  than  the  Sprig  of  Acacia,  not  only  on 
account  of  its  own  peculiar  import,  but  also  because  it 
introduces  us  to  an  extensive  and  delightful  field  of 
research  ;  that,  namely,  which  embraces  the  symbolism 
of  sacred  plants.  In  all  the  ancient  systems  of  religion, 
and  Mysteries  of  initiation,  there  was  always  some  one 
plant  consecrated,  in  the  minds  of  the  worshippers  and 
participants,  by  a  peculiar  symbolism,  and  therefore  held 
in  extraordinary  veneration  as  a  sacred  emblem.  Thus 
the  ivy  was  used  in  the  Mysteries  of  Dionysus,  the  myrtle 
in  those  of  Ceres,  the  erica  in  the  Osirian,  and  the  lettuce 
in  the  Adonisian.  But  to  this  subject  I  shall  have  occa 
sion  to  refer  more  fully  in  a  subsequent  part  of  the  present 
investigation. 

Before  entering  upon  an  examination  of  the  symbolism 


248  THE    SPRIG   OF   ACACIA. 

of  the  Acacia,  it  will  be,  perhaps,  as  well  to  identify  the 
true  plant  which  occupies  so  important  a  place  in  the 
ritual  of  Freemasonry. 

And  here,  in  passing,  I  may  be  permitted  to  say  that  it 
is  a  very  great  error  to  designate  the  symbolic  plant  of 
Masonry  by  the  name  of  "  Cassia "  —  an  error  which 
undoubtedly  arose,  originally,  from  the  very  common 
habit  among  illiterate  people  of  sinking  the  sound  of  the 
letter  a  in  the  pronunciation  of  any  word  of  which  it  con 
stitutes  the  initial  syllable.  Just,  for  instance,  as  we  con 
stantly  hear,  in  the  conversation  of  the  uneducated,  the 
words  pothecary  and  prentice  for  apothecary  and  appren 
tice,  shall  we  also  find  cassia  used  for  acacia.*  Unfor 
tunately,  however,  this  corruption  of  acacia  into  cassia 
has  not  always  been  confined  to  the  illiterate  :  but  the 
long  employment  of  the  corrupted  form  has  at  length 
introduced  it,  in  some  instances,  among  a  few  of  our 
writers.  Even  the  venerable  Oliver,  although  well  ac 
quainted  with  the  symbolism  of  the  acacia,  and  having 
writen  most  learnedly  upon  it,  has,  at  times,  allowed  him 
self  to  use  the  objectionable  corruption,  unwittingly  influ 
enced,  in  all  probability,  by  the  too  frequent  adoption  of 
the  latter  word  in  the  English  lodges.  In  America,  but 
few  Masons  fall  into  the  error  of  speaking  of  the  Cassia. 
The  proper  teaching  of  the  Acacia  is  here  well  under 
stood. f 

*  Oliver's  idea  (Landmarks,  ii.  149)  that  cassia  has,  since  the 
year  1730,  been  corrupted  into  acacia,  is  contrary  to  all  etymologi 
cal  experience.  Words  are  corrupted,  not  by  lengthening,  but  by 
abbreviating  them.  The  uneducated  and  the  careless  are  always 
prone  to  cut  off  a  syllable,  not  to  add  a  new  one. 

f  And  yet  I  have  been  surprised  by  seeing,  once  or  twice,  the 
word  "  Cassia"  adopted  as  the  name  of  a  lodge.  '•  Cinnamon  " 


THE    SPRIG    OF    ACACIA.  249 

The  cassia  of  the  ancients  was,  in  fact,  an  ignoble  plant, 
having  no  mystic  meaning  and  no  sacred  character,  and 
was  never  elevated  to  a  higher  function  than  that  of  being 
united,  as  Virgil  informs  us,  with  other  odorous  herbs  in 
the  formation  of  a  garland  :  — 

" .         .         .         violets  pale, 

The  poppy's  flush,  and  dill  which  scents  the  gale, 
Cassia,  and  hyacinth,  and  daffodil, 
With  yellow  marigold  the  chaplet  fill."  * 

Alston  says  that  the  "  Cassia  lignea  of  the  ancients  was 
the  larger  branches  of  the  cinnamon  tree,  cut  off  with  their 
bark  and  sent  together  to  the  druggists  ;  their  Cassia  fistu 
la,  or  Syrinx,  was  the  same  cinnamon  in  the  bark  only  ; " 
but  Ruaeus  says  that  it  also  sometimes  denoted  the  laven 
der,  and  sometimes  the  rosemary. 

In  Scripture  the  cassia  is  only  three  times  mentioned,! 
twice  as  the  translation  of  the  Hebrew  word  kiddah,  and 
once  as  the  rendering  of  ketzioth,  but  always  as  referring 
to  an  aromatic  plant  which  formed  a  constituent  portion 
of  some  perfume.  There  is,  indeed,  strong  reason  for 
believing  that  the  cassia  is  only  another  name  for  a  coarser 
preparation  of  cinnamon,  and  it  is  also  to  be  remarked 
that  it  did  not  grow  in  Palestine,  but  was  imported  from 
the  East. 

or  "  sandal  wood  "  would  have  been  as  appropriate,  for  anj'  ma 
sonic  meaning  or  symbolism. 
*  Eclog.  ii.  49. 

"  Pallentes  violas  et  summa  papavera  carpens, 
Narcissum  et  florem  jungit  bene  olentis  anethi : 
Turn  casia,  atque  aliis  intexens  suavibus  herbis, 
Mollia  luteola  pingit  vaccinia  caltha." 
t  Exod.  xxx.  24,  Ezek.  xxvii.  9,  and  Ps.  xlv.  8. 


250  THE    SPRIG    OF    ACACIA. 

The  acacia,  on  the  contrary,  was  esteemed  a  sacred 
tree.  It  is  the  acacia  vera  of  Tournefort,  and  the  mimosa 
nilotica  of  Linnaeus.  It  grew  abundantly  in  the  vicinity 
of  Jerusalem,*  where  it  is  still  to  be  found,  and  is  familiar 
to  us  all,  in  its  modern  uses  at  least,  as  the  tree  from  which 
the  gum  arabic  of  commerce  is  obtained. 

The  acacia,  which,  in  Scripture,  is  always  called  shit- 
tahj(  and  in  the  plural  shittim,  was  esteemed  a  sacred 
wood  among  the  Hebrews.  Of  it  Moses  was  ordered  to 
make  the  tabernacle,  the  ark  of  the  covenant,  the  table 
for  the  showbread,  and  the  rest  of  the  sacred  furniture. 
Isaiah,  in  recounting  the  promises  of  God's  mercy  to  the 
Israelites  on  their  return  from  the  captivity,  tells  them, 
that,  among  other  things,  he  will  plant  in  the  wilderness, 
for  their  relief  and  refreshment,  the  cedar,  the  acacia  (or, 
as  it  is  rendered  in  our  common  version,  the  shittah),  the 
fir,  and  other  trees. 

*  Oliver,  it  is  true,  says,  that  "  there  is  not  the  smallest  trace  of 
any  tree  of  the  kind  growing  so  far  north  as  Jerusalem  "  {Landm. 
ii.  136)  ;  but  this  statement  is  refuted  by  the  authority  of  Lieutenant 
Lynch,  who  saw  it  growing  in  great  abundance  at  Jericho,  and 
still  farther  north.  —  Exped.  to  the  Dead  Sea,  p.  262.  —The  Rabbi 
Joseph  Schwarz,  who  is  excellent  authority,  says,  "  The  Acacia 
(Shittim)  Tree,  Al  Sunt,  is  found  in  Palestine  of  different  varieties  ; 
it  looks  like  the  Mulberry  tree,  attains  a  great  height,  and  has  a 
hard  wood.  The  gum  which  is  obtained  from  it  is  the  gum 
arabic."  —  Descriptive  Geography  and  Historical  Sketch  of  Pal 
estine,  p.  308,  Leeser's  translation.  Phila.,  1850. — Schwarz  was 
for  sixteen  years  a  resident  of  Palestine,  and  wrote  from  personal 
observation.  The  testimony  of  Lynch  and  Schwarz  should,  there 
fore,  forever  settle  the  question  of  the  existence  of  the  acacia  in 
Palestine. 

f  Calmet,  Parkhurst,  Gesenius,  Clarke,  Shaw,  and  all  the  best 
authorities,  concur  in  saying  that  the  otzi  shittim,  or  shittim 
wood  of  Exodus,  was  the  common  acacia  or  mimosa  nilotica  of 
Linnaeus. 


THE    SPRIG    OF   ACACIA.  251 

The  first  thing,  then,  that  we  notice  in  this  symbol  of 
the  acacia,  is,  that  it  had  been  always  consecrated  from 
among  the  other  trees  of  the  forest  by  the  sacred  purposes 
to  which  it  was  devoted.  By  the  Jew  the  tree  from  whose 
wood  the  sanctuary  of  the  tabernacle  and  the  holy  ark  had 
been  constructed  would  ever  be  viewed  as  more  sacred 
than  ordinary  trees.  The  early  Masons,  therefore,  verj 
naturally  appropriated  this  hallowed  plant  to  the  equally 
sacred  purpose  of  a  symbol  which  was  to  teach  an  im 
portant  divine  truth  in  all  ages  to  come. 

Having  thus  briefly  disposed  of  the  natural  history  of 
this  plant,  we  may  now  proceed  to  examine  it  in  its  sym 
bolic  relations. 

First.  The  acacia,  in  the  mythic  system  of  Freemason 
ry,  is  preeminently  the  symbol  of  the  IMMORTALITY  OF 
THE  SOUL  —  that  important  doctrine  which  it  is  the  great 
design  of  the  institution  to  teach.  As  the  evanescent  na 
ture  of  the  flower  which  "  cometh  forth  and  is  cut  down  " 
reminds  us  of  the  transitory  nature  of  human  life,  so  the 
perpetual  renovation  of  the  evergreen  plant,  which  unin 
terruptedly  presents  the  appearance  of  youth  and  vigor, 
is  aptly  compared  to  that  spiritual  life  in  which  the  soul, 
freed  from  the  corruptible  companionship  of  the  body, 
shall  enjoy  an  eternal  spring  and  an  immortal  youth. 
Hence,  in  the  impressive  funeral  service  of  our  order,  it 
is  said,  "  This  evergreen  is  an  emblem  of  our  faith  in 
the  immortality  of  the  soul.  By  this  we  are  reminded 
that  we  have  an  immortal  part  within  us,  which  shall  sur 
vive  the  grave,  and  w;hich  shall  never,  never,  never  die." 
And  again,  in  the  closing  sentences  of  the  monitorial 
lecture  of  the  Third  Degree,  the  same  sentiment  is  repeat 
ed,  and  we  are  told  that  by  "  the  ever  green  and  ever 


252  THE    SPRIG    OF    ACACIA. 

living  sprig"  the  Mason  is  strengthened  "  with  confidence 
and  composure  to  look  forward  to  a  blessed  immortality." 
Such  an  interpretation  of  the  symbol  is  an  easy  and  a 
natural  one  ;  it  suggests  itself  at  once  to  the  least  reflec 
tive  mind,  and  consequently,  in  some  one  form  or  anoth 
er,  is  to  be  found  existing  in  all  ages  and  nations.  It  was 
an  ancient  custom,  which  is  not,  even  now,  altogether 
disused,  for  mourners  to  carry  in  their  hands  at  funerals 
a  sprig  of  some  evergreen,  generally  the  cedar  or  the 
cypress,  and  to  deposit  it  in  the  grave  of  the  deceased. 
According  to  Dalcho,*  the  Hebrews  always  planted  a 
sprig  of  the  acacia  at  the  head  of  the  grave  of  a  departed 
friend.  Potter  tells  us  that  the  ancient  Greeks  "  had  a 
custom  of  bedecking  tombs  with  herbs  and  flowers. "f 
All  sorts  of  purple  and  white  flowers  were  acceptable  to 
the  dead,  but  principally  the  amaranth  and  the  myrtle. 
The  very  name  of  the  former  of  these  plants,  which  sig 
nifies  "  never  fading,"  would  seem  to  indicate  the  true 

*  "This  custom  among  the  Hebrews  arose  from  this  circum 
stance.  Agreeably  to  their  laws,  no  dead  bodies  were  allowed  to  be 
interred  within  the  walls  of  the  city ;  and  as  the  Cohens,  or  priests, 
were  prohibited  from  crossing  a  grave,  it  was  necessary  to  place 
marks  thereon,  that  they  might  avoid  them.  For  this  purpose 
the  acacia  was  used."  —  DALCHO,  Oration,  p.  27,  note.  —  I  object 
to  the  reason  assigned  by  Dalcho;  but  of  the  existence  of  the 
custom  there  can  be  no  question,  notwithstanding  the  denial  or 
doubt  of  Dr.  Oliver.  Blount  (Travels  in  the  Levant,  p.  19*7)  says, 
speaking  of  the  Jewish  burial  customs,  "those  who  bestow  a  mar 
ble  stone  over  any  [grave]  have  a  hole  a  yard  long  and  a  foot 
broad,  in  which  they  platit  an  evergreen,  which  seems  to  grow 
from  the  body,  and  is  carefully  watched."  Hasselquist  (Travels, 
p.  28)  confirms  his  testimony.  I  borrow  the  citations  from  Brown 
{Antiquities  of  the  Jews,  vol.  ii.  p.  356),  but  have  verified  the 
reference  to  Hasselquist.  The  work  of  Blount  I  have  not  been 
enabled  to  consult. 

t  Antiquities  of  Greece,  p.  569. 


THE    SPRIG    OF    ACACIA.  353 

symbolic  meaning  of  the  usage,  although  archaeologists 
have  generally  supposed  it  to  be  simply  an  exhibition  of 
love  on  the  part  of  the  survivors.  Ragon  says,  that  the 
ancients  substituted  the  acacia  for  all  other  plants  because 
they  believed  it  to  be  incorruptible,  and  not  liable  to 
injury  from  the  attacks  of  any  kind  of  insect  or  other 
animal  —  thus  symbolizing  the  incorruptible  nature  of 
the  soul. 

Hence  we  see  the  propriety  of  placing  the  sprig  of 
acacia,  as  an  emblem  of  immortality,  among  the  symbols 
of  that  degree,  all  of  whose  ceremonies  are  intended  to 
teach  us  the  great  truth,  that  "  the  life  of  man,  regulated 
by  morality,  faith,  and  justice,  will  be  rewarded  at  its 
closing  hour  by  the  prospect  of  eternal  bliss."*  So, 
therefore,  says  Dr.  Oliver,  when  the  Master  Mason  ex 
claims,  "My  name  is  Acacia,"  it  is  equivalent  to  saying, 
"  I  have  been  in  the  grave,  —  I  have  triumphed  over  it  by 
rising  from  the  dead,  —  and  being  regenerated  in  the  pro 
cess,  I  have  a  claim  to  life  everlasting." 

The  sprig  of  acacia,  then,  in  its  most  ordinary  signifi 
cation,  presents  itself  to  the  Master  Mason  as  a  symbol 
of  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  being  intended  to  remind 
him,  by  its  evergreen  and  unchanging  nature,  of  that  bet 
ter  and  spiritual  part  within  us,  which,  as  an  emanation 
from  the  Grand  Architect  of  the  Universe,  can  never  die. 
And  as  this  is  the  most  ordinary,  the  most  generally  ac 
cepted  signification,  so  also  is  it  the  most  important ;  for 
thus,  as  the  peculiar  symbol  of  immortality,  it  becomes 
the  most  appropriate  to  an  order  all  of  whose  teachings 
are  intended  to  inculcate  the  great  lesson  that  "  life  rises 
out  of  the  grave."  But  incidental  to  this  the  acacia  has 

*  Dr.  Crucefix,  MS.,  quoted  by  Oliver,  Landmarks,  ii.  2. 


254  THE    SPRIG    OF   ACACIA. 

two  other  interpretations,  which  are  well  worthy  of  inves 
tigation. 

Secondly,  then,  the  acacia  is  a  symbol  of  INNOCENCE. 
The  symbolism  here  is  of  a  peculiar  and  unusual  charac 
ter,  depending  not  on  any  real  analogy  in  the  form  or  use 
of  the  symbol  to  the  idea  symbolized,  but  simply  on  a 
double  or  compound  meaning  of  the  word.  For  «*<*xtu, 
in  the  Greek  language,  signifies  both  the  plant  in  question 
and  the  moral  quality  of  innocence  or  purity  of  life.  In 
this  sense  the  symbol  refers,  primarily,  to  him  over  whose 
solitary  grave  the  acacia  was  planted,  and  whose  virtuous 
conduct,  whose  integrity  of  life  and  fidelity  to  his  trusts, 
have  ever  been  presented  as  patterns  to  the  craft,  and 
consequently  to  all  Master  Masons,  who,  by  this  inter 
pretation  of  the  symbol,  are  invited  to  emulate  his  ex 
ample. 

Hutchinson,  indulging  in  his  favorite  theory  of  Chris 
tianizing  Masonry,  when  he  comes  to  this  signification  of 
the  symbol,  thus  enlarges  on  the  interpretation  :  u  We 
Masons,  describing  the  deplorable  estate  of  religion  under 
the  Jewish  law,  speak  in  figures :  '  Her  tomb  was  in  the 
rubbish  and  filth  cast  forth  of  the  temple,  and  Acacia 
wove  its  branches  over  her  monument ;  '  akakia  being 
the  Greek  word  for  innocence,  or  being  free  from  sin  ; 
implying  that  the  sins  and  corruptions  of  the  old  law  and 
devotees  of  the  Jewish  altar  had  hid  Religion  from  those 
who  sought  her,  and  she  was  only  to  be  found  where 
innocence  survived,  and  under  the  banner  of  the  divine 
Lamb  ;  and  as  to  ourselves,  professing  that  we  were  to 
be  distinguished  by  our  Acacy^  or  as  true  Acacians  in 
our  religious  faith  and  tenets."  * 

*  Spirit  of  Masonry,  Icct.  ix.  p.  99. 


THE    SPRIG   OF   ACACIA.  255 

Among  the  nations  of  antiquity,  it  was  common  thus 
by  peculiar  plants  to  symbolize  the  virtues  and  other 
qualities  of  the  mind.  In  many  instances  the  sym 
bolism  has  been  lost  to  the  moderns,  but  in  others  it 
has  been  retained,  and  is  well  understood,  even  at  the 
present  day.  Thus  the  olive  was  adopted  as  the  symbol 
of  peace,  because,  says  Lee,  "  its  oil  is  very  useful,  in 
some  way  or  other,  in  all  arts  manual  which  principally 
flourish  in  times  of  peace."  * 

The  quince  among  the  Greeks  was  the  symbol  of  love 
and  happiness;!  anc^  hence,  by  the  laws  of  Solon,  in 
Athenian  marriages,  the  bride  and  bridegroom  were  re 
quired  to  eat  a  quince  together. 

The  palm  was  the  symbol  of  victory  ;  j    and  hence,  in 

*  The  Temple  of  Solomon,  ch.  ix.  p.  233. 

t  It  is  probable  that  the  quince  derived  this  symbolism,  like  the 
acacia,  from  its  name ;  for  there  seems  to  be  some  connection 
between  the  Greek  word  xvddviog,  which  means  a  quince,  and  the 
participle  xvdlwv,  which  signifies  rejoicing,  exulting.  But  this 
must  have  been  an  after-thought,  for  the  name  is  derived  from 
Cydon,  in  Crete,  of  which  island  the  quince  is  a  native. 

\  Desprez,  speaking  of  the  palm  as  an  emblem  of  victory,  says 
{Comment,  in  Horat.  Od.  I.  i.  5),  "  Pahna  vero  signum  victories 
passim  apud  omnes  statuitur,  ex  Plutarcho,  propterea  quod  ea  est 
ejus  natura  ligni,  ut  urgentibus  opprimentibusque  minime  cedat. 
Unde  est  illud  Alciati  epigramma, — 

'  Nititur  in  pondus  palma,  et  consurgit  in  altum  : 
Quoque  magis  premitur,  hoc  mage  tollit  onus.'  " 

It  is  in  the  eighth  book  of  his  Symposia  that  Plutarch  states 
this  peculiar  property  of  the  palm  to  resist  the  oppression  of  any 
superincumbent  weight,  and  to  rise  up  against  it,  whence  it  was 
adopted  as  the  symbol  of  victory.  Cowley  also  alludes  to  it  in 
his  Davideis. 

"  Well  did  he  know  how  palms  by  oppression  speed 
Victorious,  and  the  victor's  sacred  meed." 


256  THE    SPRIG    OF    ACACIA. 

the  catacombs  of  Rome,  the  burial-place  of  so  many  of 
the  early  Christians,  the  palm  leaf  is  constantly  found 
as  an  emblem  of  the  Christian's  triumph  over  sin  and 
death. 

The  rosemary  was  a  symbol  of  remembrance,  and 
hence  was  used  both  at  marriages  and  at  funerals,  the 
memory  of  the  past  being  equally  appropriate  in  both 
rites.* 

The  parsley  was  consecrated  to  grief;  and  hence  all  the 
Greeks  decked  their  tombs  with  it ;  and  it  was  used  to 
crown  the  conquerors  in  the  Nemean  games,  which  were 
of  a  funereal  character,  f 

But  it  is  needless  to  multiply  instances  of  this  symbol 
ism.  In  adopting  the  acacia  as  a  symbol  of  innocence, 
Masonry  has  but  extended  the  principle  of  an  ancient 
and  universal  usage,  which  thus  consecrated  particular 
plants,  by  a  mystical  meaning,  to  the  representation  of 
particular  virtues. 

But  lastly,  the  acacia  is  to  be  considered  as  the  symbol 
of  INITIATION.  This  is  by  far  the  most  interesting  of 
its  interpretations,  and  was,  we  have  every  reason  to 

*  "  Rosemary  was  anciently  supposed  to  strengthen  the  mem 
ory,  and  was  not  only  carried  at  funerals,  but  worn  at  weddings." 
—  STEEVENS,  Notes  on  Hamlet,  a.  iv.  s.  5.  — Douce  (Illustration* 
of  Shakspeare,  i.  345)  gives  the  following  old  song  in  reference 
to  this  subject :  — 

"Rosemarie  is  for  remembrance 
Betweene  us  daie  and  night, 
Wishing  that  I  might  always  have 
You  present  in  my  sight." 

t  Ste.  Croix  (Recherches  sur  les  Mysteres,  i.  56)  says  that  in 
the  Samothracian  Mysteries  it  was  forbidden  to  put  parsley  on  the 
table,  because,  according  to  the  mystagogues,  it  had  been  pro 
duced  by  the  blood  of  Cadmillus,  slain  by  his  brothers. 


THE    SPRIG    OF   ACACIA. 


believe,  the  primary  and  original,  the  others  being  but  in 
cidental.  It  leads  us  at  once  to  the  investigation  of  that 
significant  fact  to  which  I  have  already  alluded,  that  in 
all  the  ancient  initiations  and  religious  mysteries  there 
was  some  plant,  peculiar  to  each,  which  was  consecrated 
by  its  own  esoteric  meaning,  and  which  occupied  an 
important  position  in  the  celebration  of  the  rites  ;  so  that 
the  plant,  whatever  it  might  be,  from  its  constant  and 
prominent  use  in  the  ceremonies  of  initiation,  came  at 
length  to  be  adopted  as  the  symbol  of  that  initiation. 

A  reference  to  some  of  these  sacred  plants  —  for  such 
was  the  character  they  assumed  —  and  an  investigation 
of  their  symbolism  will  not,  perhaps,  be  uninteresting  or 
useless,  in  connection  with  the  subject  of  the  present 
article. 

In  the  Mysteries  of  Adonis,  which  originated  in  Phre 
nic  ia,  and  were  afterwards  transferred  to  Greece,  the 
death  and  resurrection  of  Adonis  was  represented.  A 
part  of  the  legend  accompanying  these  mysteries  was,  that 
when  Adonis  was  slain  by  a  wild  boar,  Venus  laid  out 
the  body  on  a  bed  of  lettuce.  In  memorial  of  this  sup 
posed  fact,  on  the  first  day  of  the  celebration,  when  funeral 
rites  were  performed,  lettuces  were  carried  in  the  pro 
cession,  newly  planted  in  shells  of  earth.  Hence  the 
lettuce  became  the  sacred  plant  of  the  Adonia,  or  Adonis- 
ian  Mysteries. 

The  lotus  was  the  sacred  plant  of  the  Brahminical  rites 
of  India,  and  was  considered  as  the  symbol  of  their 
elemental  trinity,  —  earth,  water,  and  air,  —  because,  as 
an  aquatic  plant,  it  derived  its  nutriment  from  all  of  these 
elements  combined,  its  roots  being  planted  in  the  earth, 
its  stem  rising  through  the  water,  and  its  leaves  exposed 

'7 


258  THE    SPRIG    OF   ACACIA. 

to  the  air.*  The  Egyptians,  who  borrowed  a  large  por 
tion  of  their  religious  rites  from  the  East,  adopted  the 
lotus,  which  was  also  indigenous  to  their  country,  as  a 
mystical  plant,  and  made  it  the  symbol  of  their  initiation, 
or  the  birth  into  celestial  light.  Hence,  as  Champollion 
observes,  they  often  on  their  monuments  represented  the 
god  Phre,  or  the  sun,  as  borne  within  the  expanded  calyx 
of  the  lotus.  The  lotus  bears  a  flower  similar  to  that  of 
the  poppy,  while  its  large,  tongue-shaped  leaves  float  upon 
the  surface  of  the  water.  As  the  Egyptians  had  remarked 
that  the  plant  expands  when  the  sun  rises,  and  closes 
when  it  sets,  they  adopted  it  as  a  symbol  of  the  sun  ;  and 
as  that  luminary  was  the  principal  object  of  the  popular 
worship,  the  lotus  became  in  all  their  sacred  rites  a  con 
secrated  and  mystical  plant. 

The  Egyptians  also  selected  the  erica^  or  heath,  as  a 
sacred  plant.  The  origin  of  the  consecration  of  this  plant 
presents  us  with  a  singular  coincidence,  that  will  be  pecu 
liarly  interesting  to  the  masonic  student.  We  are  informed 
that  there  was  a  legend  in  the  mysteries  of  Osiris,  which 
related,  that  Isis,  when  in  search  of  the  body  of  her  mur 
dered  husband,  discovered  it  interred  at  the  brow  of  a 
hill,  near  which  an  erica,  or  heath  plant,  grew ;  and 
hence,  after  the  recovery  of  the  body  and  the  resurrection 

*  "The  Hindoos,"  says  Faber,  "represent  their  mundane  lotus, 
as  having  four  large  leaves  and  four  small  leaves  placed  alternate 
ly,  while  from  the  centre  of  the  flower  rises  a  protuberance.  Now, 
the  circular  cup  formed  by  the  eight  leaves  they  deem  a  symbol  of 
the  earth,  floating  on  the  surface  of  the  ocean,  and  consisting  of 
four  large  continents  and  four  intermediate  smaller  islands;  while 
the  centrical  protuberance  is  viewed  by  them  as  representing  their 
sacred  Mount  Menu."  —  Communication  to  Gent,  Mag.  vol.  Ixxxvi. 
p.  408. 

t  The  erica  arborea>  or  tree  heath. 


THE    SPRIG    OF   ACACIA.  259 

of  the  god,  when  she  established  the  mysteries  to  com 
memorate  her  loss  and  her  recovery,  she  adopted  the  erica, 
as  a  sacred  plant,*  in  memory  of  its  having  pointed  out 
the  spot  where  the  mangled  remains  of  Osiris  were  con- 
cealed.t 

The  mistletoe  was  the  sacred  plant  of  Druidism.  Its 
consecrated  character  was  derived  from  a  legend  of  the 
Scandinavian  mythology,  and  which  is  thus  related  in 
the  Edda,  or  sacred  books.  The  god  Balder,  the  son  of 
Odin,  having  dreamed  that  he  was  in  some  great  danger 
of  life,  his  mother,  Friga,  exacted  an  oath  from  all  the 
creatures  of  the  animal,  the  vegetable,  and  the  mineral 
kingdoms,  that  they  would  do  no  harm  to  her  son.  The 
mistletoe,  contemptible  from  its  size  and  weakness,  was 
alone  neglected,  and  of  it  no  oath  of  immunity  was 
demanded.  Lok,  the  evil  genius,  or  god  of  Darkness, 
becoming  acquainted  with  this  fact,  placed  an  arrow 
made  of  mistletoe  in  the  hands  of  Holder,  the  blind 
brother  of  Balder,  on  a  certain  day,  when  the  gods  were 
throwing  missiles  at  him  in  sport,  and  wondering  at 
their  inability  to  do  him  injury  with  any  arms  with  which 
they  could  attack  him.  But,  being  shot  with  the  mistletoe 
arrow,  it  inflicted  a  fatal  wound,  and  Balder  died. 

Ever  afterwards  the  mistletoe  was  revered  as  a  sacred 

*  Ragon  thus  alludes  to  this  mystical  event:  "Isis  found  the 
body  of  Osiris  in  the  neighborhood  of  Biblos,  and  near  a  tall  plant 
called  the  erica.  Oppressed  with  grief,  she  seated  herself  on  the 
margin  of  a  fountain,  whose  waters  issued  from  a  rock.  This 
rock  is  the  small  hill  mentioned  in  the  ritual ;  the  erica  has  been 
replaced  by  the  acacia,  and  the  grief  of  Isis  has  been  changed  for 
that  of  the  fellow  crafts."  —  Cours  des  Initiations,  p.  151. 

f  It  is  singular,  and  perhaps  significant,  that  the  word  eriko,  in 
Greek,  fylxto,  whence  erica  is  probably  derived,  means  to  break 
in  pieces,  to  mangle* 


260  THE    SPRIG    OF    ACACIA. 

plant,  consecrated  to  the  powers  of  darkness  ;  and  annually 
it  became  an  important  rite  among  the  Druids  to  proceed 
into  the  forest  in  search  of  the  mistletoe,  which,  being 
found,  was  cut  down  by  the  Arch  Druid,  and  its  parts, 
after  a  solemn  sacrifice,  were  distributed  among  the 
people.  Clavel  *  very  ingeniously  remarks,  that  it  is 
evident,  in  reference  to  the  legend,  that  as  Balder  sym 
bolizes  the  Sun-god,  and  Lok,  Darkness,  this  search  for 
the  mistletoe  was  intended  to  deprive  the  god  of  Darkness 
of  the  power  of  destroying  the  god  of  Light.  And  the 
distribution  of  the  fragments  of  the  mistletoe  among  their 
pious  worshippers,  was  to  assure  them  that  henceforth  a 
similar  attempt  of  Lok  would  prove  abortive,  and  he  was 
thus  deprived  of  the  means  of  effecting  his  design.f 

The  myrtle  performed  the  same  office  of  symbolism  in 
the  Mysteries  of  Greece  as  the  lotus  did  in  Egypt,  or  the 
mistletoe  among  the  Druids.  The  candidate,  in  these 
initiations,  was  crowned  with  myrtle,  because,  according 
to  the  popular  theology,  the  myrtle  was  sacred  to  Proser 
pine,  the  goddess  of  the  future  life.  Every  classical 
scholar  will  remember  the  golden  branch  with  which 
yEneas  was  supplied  by  the  Sibyl,  before  proceeding  on 
his  journey  to  the  infernal  regions  \ — a  voyage  which 

*  Histoire  Pittoresque  des  Religions,  t.  i.  p.  217. 

t  According  to  Toland  (Works,  i.  74),  the  festival  of  searching, 
cutting,  and  consecrating  the  mistletoe,  took  place  on  the  loth  of 
March,  or  New  Year's  day.  "This,"  he  says,  "is  the  ceremony 
to  which  Virgil  alludes,  by  his  golden  branch,  in  the  Sixth  Book 
of  the  -^Eneid."  No  doubt  of  it;  for  all  these  sacred  plants  had  a 
common  origin  in  some  ancient  and  general  symbolic  idea. 

J  "Under  this  branch  is  figured  the  wreath  of  myrtle,  with 
which  the  initiated  were  crowned  at  the  celebration  of  the 
Mysteries."  —  WARBURTON,  Divine  Legation,  vol.  i.  p.  299. 


THE    SPRIG   OF    ACACIA.  261 

is  now  universally  admitted  to  be  a  mythical  representa 
tion  of  the  ceremonies  of  initiation. 

In  all  of  these  ancient  Mysteries,  while  the  sacred  plant 
was  a  symbol  of  initiation,  the  initiation  itself  was  sym 
bolic  of  the  resurrection  to  a  future  life,  and  of  the  im 
mortality  of  the  soul.  In  this  view,  Freemasonry  is  to 
us  now  in  the  place  of  the  ancient  initiations,  and  the 
acacia  is  substituted  for  the  lotus,  the  erica,  the  ivy,  the 
mistletoe,  and  the  myrtle.  The  lesson  of  wisdom  is  the 
same  ;  the  medium  of  imparting  it  is  all  that  has  been 
changed. 

Returning,  then,  to  the  acacia,  we  find  that  it  is  capable 
of  three  explanations.  It  is  a  symbol  of  immortality, 
of  innoceuce,  and  of  initiation.  But  these  three  signifi 
cations  are  closely  connected,  and  that  connection  must 
be  observed,  if  we  desire  to  obtain  a  just  interpretation 
of  the  symbol.  Thus,  in  this  one  symbol,  we  are  taught 
that  in  the  initiation  of  life,  of  which  the  initiation  in  the 
third  -degree  is  simply  emblematic,  innocence  must  for  a 
time  lie  in  the  grave,  at  length,  however,  to  be  called,  by 
the  word  of  the  Grand  Master  of  the  Universe,  to  a  blissful 
immortality.  Combine  with  this  the  recollection  of  the 
place  where  the  sprig  of  acacia  was  planted,  and  which  I 
have  heretofore  shown  to  be  Mount  Calvary,  the  place  of 
sepulture  of  Him  who  "brought  life  and  immortality  to 
light,"  and  who,  in  Christian  Masonry,  is  designated,  as 
he  is  in  Scripture,  as  u  the  lion  of  the  tribe  of  Judah," 
and  remember,  too,  that  in  the  mystery  of  his  death,  the 
wood  of  the  cross  takes  the  place  of  the  acacia,  and  in 
this  little  and  apparently  insignificant  symbol,  but  which 
is  really  and  truly  the  most  important  and  significant  one 
in  masonic  science,  we  have  a  beautiful  suggestion  of  all 


262  THE    SPRIG    OF    ACACIA. 

the  mysteries  of  life  and  death,  of  time  and  eternity,  of 
the  present  and  of  the  future.  Thus  read  (and  thus  all 
our  symbols  should  be  read),  Masonry  proves  something 
more  to  its  disciples  than  a  mere  social  society  or  a  chari 
table  association.  It  becomes  a  "  lamp  to  our  feet," 
whose  spiritual  light  shines  on  the  darkness  of  the  death 
bed,  and  dissipates  the  gloomy  shadows  of  the  grave. 


XXIX. 

THE   SYMBOLISM   OF  LABOR. 

<m/j  T  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  features  of  the 
Masonic  Institution,  that  it  teaches  not  only  the 
,  necessity,  but  the  nobility,  of  labor.  Among  the 
s  earliest  of  the  implements  in  whose  emblematic 
use  it  instructs  its  neophytes  is  the  Trestle  Board,  the 
acknowledged  symbol  of  the  Divine  Law,  in  accordance 
with  whose  decree  *  labor  was  originally  instituted  as  the 
common  lot  of  all ;  and  therefore  the  important  lesson 
that  is  closely  connected  with  this  symbol  is.  that  to 
labor  well  and  truly,  to  labor  honestly  and  persistently, 
is  the  object  and  the  chief  end  of  all  humanity. 

To  work  out  well  the  task  that  is  set  before  us  is  our 
highest  duty,  and  should  constitute  our  greatest  happi 
ness.  All  men,  then,  must  have  their  trestle  boards ; 
for  the  principles  that  guide  us  in  the  discharge  of  our 
duty  —  the  schemes  that  we  devise  —  the  plans  that  we 

*  "  In  the  sweat  of  thy  face  shalt  thou  eat  bread."  Gen.  iii.  19. 
Bush  interprets  the  decree  to  mean  that  "  some  species  of  toilsome 
occupation  is  the  appointed  lot  of  all  men." 


264  THE    SYMBOLISM    OF    LABOR. 

propose  —  are  but  the  trestle  board,  whose  designs  we 
follow,  for  good  or  for  evil,  in  our  labor  of  life. 

Earth  works  with  every  coining  spring,  and  within 
its  prolific  bosom  designs  the  bursting  seed,  the  tender 
plant,  and  the  finished  tree,  upon  its  trestle  board. 

Old  ocean  works  forever  —  restless  and  murmuring  — 
but  still  bravely  working ;  and  storms  and  tempests,  the 
purifiers  of  stagnant  nature,  are  inscribed  upon  its  trestle 
board. 

And  God  himself,  the  Grand  Architect,  the  Master 
Builder  of  the  world,  has  labored  from  eternity ;  and 
working  by  his  omnipotent  will,  he  inscribes  his  plans 
upon  illimitable  space,  for  the  universe  is  his  trestle  board. 

There  was  a  saying  of  the  monks  of  old  which  is 
well  worth  meditation.  They  taught  that  "  laborare  est 
orare"  —  labor  is  worship.  They  did  not,  it  is  true, 
always  practise  the  wise  precept.  They  did  not  always 
make  labor  a  part  of  their  religion.  Like  Onuphrius, 
who  lived  threescore  years  and  ten  in  the  desert,  without 
human  voice  or  human  sympathy  to  cheer  him,  because 
he. had  not  learned  that  man  was  made  for  man,  those 
old  ascetics  went  into  the  wilderness,  and  built  cells,  and 
occupied  themselves  in  solitary  meditation  and  profitless 
thought.  They  prayed  much,  but  they  did  no  work. 
And  thus  they  passed  their  lives,  giving  no  pity,  aid, 
or  consolation  to  their  fellow-men,  adding  no  mite  to 
the  treasury  of  human  knowledge,  and  leaving  the  world, 
when  their  selfish  pilgrimage  was  finished,  without  a 
single  contribution,  in  labor  of  mind  or  body,  to  its 
welfare.* 

*  Aristotle  says,  "  He  that  cannot  contract  society  with  others, 
or  who,  through  his  own  self-sufficiency  [avrd^xetcty],  does  not 


THE    SYMBOLISM    OF    LABOR.  265 

And  men,  seeing  the  uselessness  of  these  ascetic  lives, 
shrink  now  from  their  example,  and  fall  back  upon  that 
wiser  teaching,  that  he  best  does  God's  will  who  best 
does  God's  work.  The  world  now  knows  that  heaven 
is  not  served  by  man's  idleness  —  that  the  "  dolce  far 
niente"  though  it  might  suit  an  Italian  lazzaroni,  is  not 
fit  for  a  brave  Christian  man,  and  that  they  who  would 
do  rightly,  and  act  well  their  part,  must  take  this  distich 
for  their  motto  :  — 

"  With  this  hand  work,  and  with  the  other  pray, 
And  God  will  bless  them  both  from  day  to  day. 

Now,  this  doctrine,  that  labor  is  worship,  is  the  very 
doctrine  that  has  been  advanced  and  maintained,  from  time 
immemorial,  as  a  leading  dogma  of  the  Order  of  Freema 
sonry.  There  is  no  other  human  institution  under  the  sun 
which  has  set  forth  this  great  principle  in  such  bold  re 
lief.  We  hear  constantly  of  Freemasonry  as  an  institution 
that  inculcates  morality,  that  fosters  the  social  feeling, 
that  teaches  brotherly  love  ;  and  all  this  is  well,  because 
it  is  true  ;  but  we  must  never  forget  that  from  its  founda 
tion-stone  to  its  pinnacle,  all  over  its  vast  temple,  is 
inscribed,  in  symbols  of  living  light,  the  great  truth  that 
labor  is  worship. 

It  has  been  supposed  that,  because  we  speak  of  Free 
masonry  as  a  speculative  system,  it  has  nothing  to  do 
with  the  practical.  But  this  is  a  most  grievous  error. 
Freemasonry  is,  it  is  true,  a  speculative  science,  but  it 
is  a  speculative  science  based  upon  an  operative  art. 
All  its  symbols  and  allegories  refer  to  this  connection. 

need  it,  forms  no  part  of  the  community,  but  is  either  a  wild  beast 
or  a  god." 


266  THE    SYMBOLISM    OF    LABOR. 

Its  very  language  is  borrowed  from  the  art,  and  it  is 
singularly  suggestive  that  the  initiation  of  a  candidate 
into  its  mysteries  is  called,  in  its  peculiar  phraseology, 
'work. 

I  repeat  that  this  expression  is  singularly  suggestive. 
When  the  lodge  is  engaged  in  reading  petitions,  hearing 
reports,  debating  financial  matters,  it  is  said  to  be  occu 
pied  in  business;  but  when  it  is  engaged  in  the  form  and 
ceremony  of  initiation  into  any  of  the  degrees,  it  is  said 
to  be  at  'work.  Initiation  is  masonic  labor.  This  phra 
seology  at  once  suggests  the  connection  of  our  speculative 
system  with  an  operative  art  that  preceded  it,  and  upon 
which  it  has  been  founded.  This  operative  art  must 
have  given  it  form  and  features  and  organization.  If 
the  speculative  system  had  been  founded  solely  on  phil 
osophical  or  ethical  principles,  if  it  had  been  derived 
from  some  ancient  or  modern  sect  of  philosophers,  — 
from  the  Stoics,  the  Epicureans,  or  the  Platonists  of  the 
heathen  world,  or  from  any  of  the  many  divisions  of  the 
scholastics  of  the  middle  ages,  —  this  origin  would  most 
certainly  have  affected  its  interior  organization  as  well 
as  its  external  form,  and  we  should  have  seen  our  modern 
masonic  reunions  assuming  the  style  of  academies  or 
schools.  Its  technical  language  —  for,  like  every  institu 
tion  isolated  from  the  ordinary  and  general  pursuits  of 
mankind,  it  would  have  had  its  own  technical  dialect  — 
would  have  been  borrowed  from,  and  would  be  easily 
traced  to,  the  peculiar  phraseology  of  the  philosophic 
sects  which  had  given  it  birth.  There  would  have 
been  the  sophists  and  the  philosophers ;  the  gramma- 
tists  and  the  grammarians ;  the  scholars,  the  masters, 
and  the  doctors.  It  would  have  had  its  trivial  and  its 


THE    SYMBOLISM    OF    LABOR.  267 

quadrivial  schools ;  its  occupation  would  have  been 
research,  experiment,  or  investigation ;  in  a  word,  its 
whole  features  would  have  been  colored  by  a  grammat 
ical,  a  rhetorical,  or  a  mathematical  cast,  accordingly  as 
it  should  have  been  derived  from  a  sect  in  which  any 
one  of  these  three  characteristics  was  the  predominating 
influence. 

But  in  the  organization  of  Freemasonry,  as  it  now 
presents  itself  to  us,  we  see  an  entirely  different  appear 
ance.  Its  degrees  are  expressive,  not  of  advancement  in 
philosophic  attainments,  but  of  progress  in  a  purely 
mechanical  pursuit.  Its  highest  grade  is  that  of  Master 
of  the  Work.  Its  places  of  meeting  are  not  schools,  but 
lodges,  places  where  the  workmen  formerly  lodged,  in 
the  neighborhood  of  the  building  on  whose  construction 
they  were  engaged.  It  does  not  form  theories,  but 
builds  temples.  It  knows  nothing  of  the  rules  of  the 
dialecticians,  —  of  the  syllogism,  the  dilemma,  the  enthy- 
meme,  or  the  sorites,  —  but  it  recurs  to  the  homely  imple 
ments  of  its  operative  parent  for  its  methods  of  instruction, 
and  with  the  plumb-line  it  inculcates  rectitude  of  conduct, 
and  draws  lessons  of  morality  from  the  workman's  square. 
It  sees  in  the  Supreme  God  that  it  worships,  not  a 
"  numen  divinum"  a  divine  power,  nor  a  "  moderator 
rerum  omnium"  a  controller  of  all  things,  as  the  old 
philosophers  designated  him,  but  a  Grand  Architect 
of  the  Universe.  The  masonic  idea  of  God  refers  to 
Him  as  the  Mighty  Builder  of  this  terrestrial  globe,  and 
all  the  countless  worlds  that  surround  it.  He  is  not  the 
ens  entium,  or  to  thcion,  or  any  other  of  the  thousand 
titles  with  which  ancient  and  modern  speculation  has 
invested  him,  but  simply  the  Architect,  —  as  the  Greeks 


268  THE    SYMBOLISM    OF   LABOR. 


have  it,  the  u^o;  TC'XTW^,  the  chief  workman,  —  under 
whom  we  are  all  workmen  also  ;  *  and  hence  our  labor  is 
his  worship. 

This  idea,  then,  of  masonic  labor,  is  closely  connected 
with  the  history  of  the  organization  of  the  institution. 
When  we  say  "  the  lodge  is  at  work,"  we  recognize  that 
it  is  in  the  legitimate  practice  of  that  occupation  for 
which  it  was  originally  intended.  The  Masons  that  are 
in  it  are  not  occupied  in  thinking,  or  speculating,  or 
reasoning,  but  simply  and  emphatically  in  working. 
The  duty  of  a  Mason  as  such,  in  his  lodge,  is  to  work. 
Thereby  he  accomplishes  the  destiny  of  his  Order. 
Thereby  he  best  fulfils  his  obligation  to  the  Grand 
Architect,  for  with  the  Mason  laborare  est  orare  —  labor 
is  worship. 

The  importance  of  masonic  labor  being  thus  demon 
strated,  the  question  next  arises  as  to  the  nature  of  that 
labor.  What  is  the  work  that  a  Mason  is.  called  upon 
to  perform? 

Temple  building  was  the  original  occupation  of  our 
ancient  brethren.  Leaving  out  of  view  that  system  of 
ethics  and  of  religious  philosophy,  that  search  after  truth, 
those  doctrines  of  the  unity  of  God  and  the  immortality 
of  the  soul,  which  alike  distinguish  the  ancient  Mysteries 
and  the  masonic  institution,  and  which  both  must  have  de 
rived  from  a  common  origin,  —  most  probably  from  some 
priesthood  of  the  olden  time,  —  let  our  attention  be  exclu 
sively  directed,  for  the  present,  to  that  period,  so  familiar 
to  every  Mason,  when,  under  the  supposed  Grand  Mas- 

*  "  Der  Arbeiter,"  says  Leaning,  "  ist  der  symbolische  Name 
eines  Freimaurers  "  —  the  Workman  is  the  symbolic  name  of  a 
Freemason.  —  Encyclop.  der  Fraumcrerei. 


THE    SYMBOLISM    OF    LABOR.  269 

tership  of  King  Solomon,  Freemasonry  first  assumed  "  a 
local  habitation  and  a  name  "  in  the  holy  city  of  Jerusa 
lem.  There  the  labor  of  the  Israelites  and  the  skill  of 
the  Tynans  were  occupied  in  the  construction  of  that 
noble  temple  whose  splendor  and  magnificence  of  deco 
ration  made  it  one  of  the  wonders  of  the  world. 

Here,  then,  we  see  the  two  united  nations  directing 
their  attention,  with  surprising  harmony,  to  the  task  of 
temple  building.  The  Tyrian  workmen,  coming  imme 
diately  from  the  bosom  of  the  mystical  society  of  Dionysian 
artificers,  whose  sole  employment  was  the  erection  of 
sacred  edifices  throughout  all  Asia  Minor,  indoctrinated 
the  Jews  with  a  part  of  their  architectural  skill,  and 
bestowed  upon  them  also  a  knowledge  of  those  sacred 
Mysteries  which  they  had  practised  at  Tyre,  and  from 
which  the  present  interior  form  of  Freemasonry  is  said 
to  be  derived. 

Now,  if  there  be  any  so  incredulous  as  to  refuse  their 
assent  to  the  universally  received  masonic  tradition  on 
this  subject,  if  there  be  any  who  would  deny  all  con 
nection  of  King  Solomon  with  the  origin  of  Freemasonry, 
except  it  be  in  a  mythical  or  symbolical  sense,  such 
incredulity  will  not  at  all  affect  the  chain  of  argument 
which  I  am  disposed  to  use.  For  it  will  not  be  denied 
that  the  corporations  of  builders  in  the  middle  ages, 
those  men  who  were  known  as  "  Travelling  Freema 
sons,"  were  substantial  and  corporeal,  and  that  the 
cathedrals,  abbeys,  and  palaces,  whose  ruins  are  still 
objects  of  admiration  to  all  observers,  bear  conclusive 
testimony  that  their  existence  was  nothing  like  a  myth, 
and  that  their  labors  were  not  apocryphal.  But  these 
Travelling  Freemasons,  whether  led  into  the  error,  if 


270  THE    SYMBOLISM    OF    LABOR. 

error  it  be,  by  a  mistaken  reading  of*  history,  or  by  a 
superstitious  reverence  for  tradition,  always  esteemed 
King  Solomon  as  the  founder  of  their  Order.  So  that 
the  first  absolutely  historical  details  that  we  have  of  the 
masonic  institution,  connect  it  with  the  idea  of  a  temple. 
And  it  is  only  for  this  idea  that  I  contend,  for  it  proves 
that  the  first  Freemasons  of  whom  we  have  authentic 
record,  whether  they  were  at  Jerusalem  or  in  Europe, 
and  whether  they  flourished  a  thousand  years  before  or 
a  thousand  years  after  the  birth  of  Christ,  always  sup 
posed  that  temple  building  was  the  peculiar  specialty 
of  their  craft,  and  that  their  labor  was  to  be  the  erection 
of  temples  in  ancient  times,  and  cathedrals  and  churches 
in  the  Christian  age. 

So  that  we  come  back  at  last  to  the  proposition  with 
which  I  had  commenced,  namely  :  that  temple  building 
was  the  original  occupation  of  our  ancient  brethren. 
And  to  this  is  added  the  fact,  that  after  a  long  lapse  of 
centuries,  a  body  of  men  is  found  in  the  middle  ages  who 
were  universally  recognized  as  Freemasons,  and  who 
directed  their  attention  and  their  skill  to  the  same  pur 
suit,  and  were  engaged  in  the  construction  of  cathedrals, 
abbeys,  and  other  sacred  edifices,  these  being  the  Christian 
substitute  for  the  heathen  or  the  Jewish  temple. 

And  therefore,  when  we  view  the  history  of  the  Order 
as  thus  developed  in  its  origin  and  its  design,  we  are 
justified  in  saying  that,  in  all  times  past,  its  members 
have  been  recognized  as  men  of  labor,  and  that  their 
labor  has  been  temple  building. 

But  our  ancient  brethren  wrought  in  both  operative 
and  speculative  Masonry,  while  we  work  only  in  specu 
lative.  They  worked  with  the  hand ;  we  work  with  the 


THE    SYMBOLISM    OF   LABOR.  271 

brain.  They  dealt  in  the  material ;  we  in  the  spiritual. 
They  used  in  their  labor  wood  and  stones;  we  use 
thoughts,  and  feelings,  and  affections.  We  both  devote 
ourselves  to  labor,  but  the  object  of  the  labor  and  the 
mode  of  the  labor  are  different. 

The  French  rituals  have  given  us  the  key-note  to  the 
explanation  of  what  is  masonic  labor  when  they  say  that 
"  Freemasons  erect  temples  for  virtue  and  dungeons  for 
vice." 

The  modern  Freemasons,  like  the  Masons  of  old,  are 
engaged  in  the  construction  of  a  temple  ;  but  with  this 
difference :  that  the  temple  of  the  latter  was  material, 
that  of  the  former  spiritual.  When  the  operative  art  was 
the  predominant  characteristic  of  the  Order,  Masons  were 
engaged  in  the  construction  of  material  and  earthly 
temples.  But  when  the  operative  art  ceased,  and  the 
speculative  science  took  its  place,  then  the  Freemasons 
symbolized  the  labors  of  their  predecessors  by  engaging 
in  the  construction  of  a  spiritual  temple  in  their  hearts, 
which  was  to  be  made  so  pure  that  it  might  become  the 
dwelling-place  of  Him  who  is  all  purity.  It  was  to  be 
"  a  house  not  made  with  hands,"  where  the  hewn  stone 
was  to  be  a  purified  heart. 

This  symbolism,  which  represents  man  as  a  temple,  a 
house,  a  sacred  building  in  which  God  is  to  dwell,  is  not 
new,  nor  peculiar  to  the  masonic  science.  It  was  known 
to  the  Jewish,  and  is  still  recognized  by  the  Christian,  sys 
tem.  The  Talmudists  had  a  saying  that  the  threefold 
repetition  of  the  words  u  Temple  of  Jehovah,"  in  the 
seventh  chapter  and  fourth  verse  of  the  book  of  Jere 
miah,  was  intended  to  allude  to  the  existence  of  three 
temples ;  and  hence  in  one  of  their  treatises  it  is  said, 


272  THE    SYMBOLISM    OF    LABOR. 

"  Two  temples  have  been  destroyed,  but  the  third  will  en 
dure  forever,"  in  which  it  is  manifest  that  they  referred  to 
the  temple  of  the  immortal  soul  in  man. 

By  a  similar  allusion,  which,  however,  the  Jews  chose 
wilfully  to  misunderstand,  Christ  declared,  "  Destroy  this 
temple,  and  in  three  days  I  will  raise  it  up."  And  the 
beloved  disciple,  who  records  the  conversation,  does  not 
allow  us  to  doubt  of  the  Saviour's  meaning. 

"  Then  said  the  Jews,  Forty  and  six  years  was  this 
temple  in  building,  and  wilt  thou  rear  it  up  in  three 
days? 

u  But  he  spake  of  the  temple  of  his  body."  * 

In  more  than  one  place  the  apostle  Paul  has  fondly 
dwelt  upon  this  metaphor.  Thus  he  tells  the  Corinthians 
that  they  are  "  God's  building,*'  and  he  calls  himself  the 
u  wise  master  builder,"  who  was  to  lay  the  foundation  in 
his  truthful  doctrine,  upon  which  they  were  to  erect  the 
edifice.!  And  he  says  to  them  immediately  afterwards, 
"  Know  ye  not  that  ye  are  the  temple  of  God,  and  that 
the  Spirit  of  God  dwelleth  in  you?  " 

In  consequence  of  these  teachings  of  the  apostles,  the 
idea  that  the  body  was  a  temple  has  pervaded,  from  the 
earliest  times  to  the  present  day,  the  system  of  Christian 
or  theological  symbolism.  Indeed,  it  has  sometimes  been 
carried  to  an  almost  too  fanciful  excess.  Thus  Samuel 
Lee,  in  that  curious  and  rare  old  work,  "  The  Temple  of 
Solomon,  pourtrayed  by  Scripture  Light"  thus  dilates 
on  this  symbolism  of  the  temple  :  — 

"  The  foundation  of  this  temple  may  be  laid  in  hu 
mility  and  contrition  of  spirit,  wherein  the  inhabiter  of 

*  John  iii.  19-21.  f  i  Corinth,  iii.  9. 


THE    SYMBOLISM    OF    LABOR.  273 

eternity  delighteth  to  dwell ;  we  may  refer  the  porch  to 
the  mouth  of  a  saint,  wherein  every  holy  Jacob  erects  the 
pillars  of  God's  praise,  calling  upon  and  blessing  his 
name  for  received  mercies  ;  when  songs  of  deliverance  are 
uttered  from  the  doors  of  his  lips.  The  holy  place  is  the 
renewed  mind,  and  the  windows  therein  may  denote 
divine  illumination  from  above,  cautioning  a  saint  lest 
they  be  darkened  with  the  smoke  of  anger,  the  mist  of 
grief,  the  dust  of  vain-glory,  or  the  filthy  mire  of  worldly 
cares.  The  golden  candlesticks,  the  infused  habits  of 
divine  knowledge  resting  within  the  soul.  The  shew- 
bread,  the  word  of  grace  exhibited  in  the  promises  for 
the  preservation  of  a  Christian's  life  and  glory.  The 
golden  altar  of  odors,  the  breathings,  sufferings,  and 
groan  ings  after  God,  ready  to  break  forth  into  Abba, 
Father.  The  veiles,  the  righteousness  of  Christ.  The 
holy  of  holies  may  relate  to  the  conscience  purified  from 
dead  works  and  brought  into  a  heavenly  frame."  *  And 
thus  he  proceeds,  symbolizing  every  part  and  utensil  of 
the  temple  as  alluding  to  some  emotion  or  affection  of 
man,  but  in  language  too  tedious  for  quotation. 

In  a  similar  vein  has  the  celebrated  John  Bunyan,  the 
author  of  the  "Pilgrim's  Progress"  proceeded  in  his 
"Temple  of  Solomon  Spiritualized"  to  refer  every  part 
of  that  building  to  a  symbolic  meaning,  selecting,  how 
ever,  the  church,  or  congregation  of  good  men.  rather 
than  the  individual  man,  as  the  object  of  the  symbolism. 

In  the  middle  ages  the  Hermetic  philosophers  seem  to 
have  given  the  same  interpretation  of  the  temple,  and 
Swedenborg,  in  his  mystical  writings,  adopts  the  idea. 

*  Orbis  Miraculum,  or  the  Temple  of  Solomon,  pourtrayed  by 
Scripture  Light,  ch.  ix.  p.  192.     London,  1659. 
IS 


24  THE    SYMBOLISM    OF    LABOR. 

Hitchcock,  who  has  written  an  admirable  little  work 
on  Swedenborg  considered  as  a  Hermetic  Philosopher, 
thus  alludes  to  this  subject,  and  his  language,  as  that  of 
a  learned  and  shrewd  investigator,  is  well  worthy  of 
quotation  :  — 

"  With,  perhaps,  the  majority  of  readers,  the  Taberna 
cle  of  Moses  and  the  Temple  of  Solomon  were  mere 
buildings;  very  magnificent  indeed,  but  still  mere  build 
ings  for  the  worship  of  God.  But  some  are  struck  with 
many  portions  of  the  account  of  their  erection,  admitting 
a  moral  interpretation  ;  and  while  the  buildings  are  allowed 
to  stand  (or  to  have  stood  once)  visible  objects,  these  in 
terpreters  are  delighted  to  meet  with  indications  that 
Moses  and  Solomon,  in  building  the  temples,  were  wise 
in  the  knowledge  of  God  and  of  man  ;  from  which  point 
it  is  not  difficult  to  pass  on  to  the  moral  meaning  alto 
gether,  and  to  affirm  that  the  building  which  was  erected 
without  'the  noise  of  a  hammer  or  axe,  or  any  tool  of 
iron,*  was  altogether  a  moral  building  —  a  building  of 
God,  not  made  with  hands :  in  short,  many  see  in  the 
story  of  Solomon's  temple  a  symbolical  representation 
of  MAN  as  the  temple  of  God,  with  its  holy  of  holies 
deep-seated  in  the  centre  of  the  human  heart."* 

The  French  Masons  have  not  been  inattentive  to  this 
symbolism.  Their  already  quoted  expression  that  the 
u  Freemasons  build  temples  for  virtue  and  dungeons  for 
vice,"  has  very  clearly  a  reference  to  it,  and  their  most 
distinguished  writers  never  lose  sight  of  it. 

*  Swedenborg  a  Hermetic  Philosopher,  &c.,  p.  210.  The  object 
of  the  author  is  to  show  that  the  Swedish  sage  was  an  adept,  and 
that  his  writings  may  be  interpreted  from  the  point  of  view  of 
Hermetic  philosophy, 


THE    SYMBOLISM    OF    LABOR.  275 

Thus  Ragon,  one  of  the  most  learned  of  the  French 
historians  of  Freemasonry,  in  his  lecture  to  the  Appren 
tice,  says  that  the  founders  of  our  Order  "  called  them 
selves  Masons,  and  proclaimed  that  they  were  building  a 
temple  to  truth  and  virtue."*  And  subsequently  he  ad 
dresses  the  candidate  who  has  received  the  Master's  de 
gree  in  the  following  language  :  — 

u  Profit  by  all  that  has  been  revealed  to  you.  Improve 
your  heart  and  your  mind.  Direct  your  passions  to  the 
general  good  ;  combat  your  prejudices  ;  watch  over  your 
thoughts  and  your  actions ;  love,  enlighten,  and  assist 
your  brethren  ;  and  you  will  have  perfected  that  temple 
of  which  you  are  at  once  the  architect,  the  material,  and 
the  -workman? 'f 

Rebold,  another  French  historian  of  great  erudition, 
says,  "  If  Freemasonry  has  ceased  to  erect  temples,  and 
by  the  aid  of  its  architectural  designs  to  elevate  all  hearts 
to  the  Deity,  and  all  eyes  and  hopes  to  heaven,  it  has  not 
therefore  desisted  from  its  work  of  moral  and  intellectual 
building;"  and  he  thinks  that  the  success  of  the  institu 
tion  has  justified  this  change  of  purpose  and  the  disrup 
tion  of  the  speculative  from  the  operative  character  of  the 
Order.j 

Eliphas  Levi,  who  has  written  abstrusely  and  mystical 
ly  on  Freemasonry  and  its  collateral  sciences,  sees  very 
clearly  an  allegorical  and  a  real  design  in  the  institution, 
the  former  being  the  rebuilding  of  the  temple  of  Solo 
mon,  and  the  latter  the  improvement  of  the  human 

*  Cours  Philosophiqueet  Interpretatif  des  Initiations  Anciennes 
et  Modernes,  p.  99. 
t  Ibid.,  p.  176. 
J  Histoire  Gen6rale  de  la  Franc-ma<jonnerie,  p.  52. 


276  THE    SYMBOLISM    OF    LABOR. 

race  by  a  reconstruction  of  its  social  and  religious  ele 
ments.* 

The  Masons  of  Germany  have  elaborated  this  idea  with 
all  the  exhaustiveness  that  is  peculiar  to  the  German 
mind,  and  the  masonic  literature  of  that  country  abounds 
in  essays,  lectures,  and  treatises,  in  which  the  prominent 
topic  is  this  building  of  the  Solomonic  temple  as  referring 
to  the  construction  of  a  moral  temple. 

Thus  writes  Ero.  Rhode,  of  Berlin  :  — 

"  So  soon  as  any  one  has  received  the  consecration  of 
our  Order,  we  say  to  him  that  we  are  building  a  mystical 
temple  ; "  and  he  adds  that  "this  temple  which  we  Masons 
are  building  is  nothing  else  than  that  which  will  conduce 
to  the  greatest  .possible  happiness  of  mankind."! 

And  another  German  brother,  Von  Wedekind,  asserts 
that  "  we  only  labor  in  our  temple  when  we  make  man 
our  predominating  object,  when  we  unite  goodness  of 
heart  with  polished  manners,  truth  with  beauty,  virtue 
with  grace."  I 

Again  wre  have  Reinhold  telling  us,  in  true  Teutonic 
expansiveness  of  expression,  that  "  by  the  mystical  Solo 
monic  temple  we  are  to  understand  the  high  ideal  or 
archetype  of  humanity  in  the  best  possible  condition  of 
social  improvement,  wherein  every  evil  inclination  is 
overcome,  every  passion  is  resolved  into  the  spirit  of 

*  Histoire  de  la  Magie,  liv.  v.  ch.  vii.  p.  100. 

f  Vorlesung  Uber  das  Symbol  des  Tempels,  in  the  "  JarbUchern 
der  Gross.  Loge  Roy.  York  zur  Freundschaft,"  cited  by  Lenning, 
Encyc.,  voc.  TempeL 

\  In  an  Essay  on  the  Masonic  Idea  of  Man's  Destination,  cited 
by  Lenning,  ut  supra,  from  the  Altenburg  Zeitschift  der  Frei- 
maurcrei. 


THE    SYMBOLISM    OF    LABOR.  277 

love,  and  wherein  each  for  all,  and  all  for  each,  kindly 
strive  to  work."* 

And  thus  the  German  Masons  call  this  striving  for  an 
almost  millennial  result  labor  in  the  temple. 

The  English  Masons,  although  they  have  not  treated 
the  symbolism  of  the  Order  with  the  same  abstruse  inves 
tigation  that  has  distinguished  those  of  Germany  and 
France,  still  have  not  been  insensible  to  this  idea  that 
the  building  of  the  Solomonic  temple  is  intended  to 
indicate  a  cultivation  of  the  human  character.  Thus 
Hutch inson,  one  of  the  earliest  of  the  symbolic  writers 
of  England,  shows  a  very  competent  conception  —  for 
the  age  in  which  he  lived  —  of  the  mystical  meaning  of 
the  temple;  and  later  writers  have  improved  upon  his 
crude  views.  It  must,  however,  be  acknowledged  that 
neither  Hutchinson  nor  Oliver,  nor  any  other  of  the  dis 
tinguished  masonic  writers  of  England,  has  dwelt  on  this 
peculiar  symbolism  of  a  moral  temple  with  that  earnest 
appreciation  of  the  idea  that  is  to  be  found  in  the  works 
of  the  French  and  German  Masons.  But  although  the 
allusions  are  rather  casual  and  incidental,  yet  the  symbolic 
theory  is  evidently  recognized,  f 

Our  own  country  has  produced  many  students  of  Ma 
sonic  symbolism,  who  have  thoroughly  grasped  this  noble 
thought,  and  treated  it  with  eloquence  and  erudition. 

Fifty  years  ago  Salem  Towne  wrote  thus :     "  Specula- 


*  Cited  by  Lenning,  ut  sup. 

f  Thus  Dr.  Oliver,  while  treating  of  the  relation  of  the  temple 
to  the  lodge,  thus  briefly  alludes  to  this  important  symbol:  "As 
our  ancient  brethren  erected  a  material  temple,  without  the  use 
of  axe,  hammer,  or  metal  tool,  so  is  our  moral  temple  con 
structed."  —  Historical  Landmarks,  lect.  xxxi. 


270  THE    SYMBOLISM    OF    LABOR. 

tive  Masonry,  according  to  present  acceptation,  has  an 
ultimate  reference  to  that  spiritual  building  erected  by 
virtue  in  the  heart,  and  summarily  implies  the  arrange 
ment  and  perfection  of  those  holy  and  sublime  principles 
by  which  the  soul  is  fitted  for  a  meet  temple  of  God  in  a 
world  of  immortality."  * 

Charles  Scott  has  devoted  one  of  the  lectures  in  his 
''Analogy  of  Ancient  Craft  Masonry  to  Natural  and  Re 
vealed  Religion  "  to  a  thorough  consideration  of  this  sub 
ject.  The  language  is  too  long  for  quotation,  but  the 
symbol  has  been  well  interpreted  by  him.f 

Still  more  recently,  Bro.  John  A.  Lodor  has  treated  the 
topic  in  an  essay,  which  I  regret  has  not  had  a  larger  cir 
culation.  A  single  and  brief  passage  may  show  the  spirit 
of  the  production,  and  how  completely  it  sustains  the  idea 
of  this  symbolism. 

"  We  may  disguise  it  as  we  will,"  says  Bro.  Lodor, 
"  we  may  evade  a  scrutiny  of  it ;  but  our  character,  as  it 
is,  with  its  faults  and  blemishes,  its  weaknesses  and  in 
firmities,  its  vices  and  its  stains,  together  with  its  redeem 
ing  traits,  its  better  parts,  is  our  speculative  temple." 
And  he  goes  on  to  extend  the  symbolic  idea  :  "  Like  the 
exemplar  temple  on  Mount  Moriah,  it  should  be  preserved 
as  a  hallowed  shrine,  and  guarded  with  the  same  vigilant 
care.  It  should  be  our  pearl  of  price  set  round  with 
walls  and  enclosures,  even  as  was  the  Jewish  temple,  and 
the  impure,  the  vicious,  the  guilty,  and  the  profane  be 
banished  from  even  its  outer  courts.  A  faithful  sentinel 
should  be  placed  at  every  gate,  a  watchman  on  every 

*  System  of  Speculative  Masonry,  ch.  vi.  p.  63. 
f  On   the  Speculative   Temple  —  an  essay  read  in  1861  before 
the  Grand  Lodge  of  Alabama. 


THE    SYMBOLISM    OF    LABOR.       ,  279 

wall,  and  the  first  approach  of  a  cowan  and  eavesdroppei 
be  promptly  met  and  resisted." 

Teachings  like  this  are  now  so  common  that  every 
American  Mason  who  has  studied  the  symbolism  of  his 
Order  believes,  with  Carlyle,  that  "  there  is  but  one  tem 
ple  in  the  world,  and  that  is  the  body  of  man." 

This  inquiry  into  the  meaning  and  object  of  labor,  as  a 
masonic  symbol,  brings  us  to  these  conclusions :  — 

1.  That  our  ancient  brethren  worked  as  long  as  the 
operative  art  predominated  in  the  institution  at  material 
temples,  the  most  prominent   of  these  being  the  temple 
of  King  Solomon. 

2.  That  when  the  speculative  science  took  the   place 
of  the  operative    art,   the   modern  Masons,   working  no 
longer  at   material    temples,  but  holding  still  to  the   sa 
cred  thought,  the   reverential   idea,  of  a  holy  temple,  a 
Lord's  house  to  be  built,  began  to  labor  at  living  temples, 
and  to  make  man,  the  true  house  of  the  Lord,  the  taber 
nacle  for  the  indwelling  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

And,  3.  Therefore  to  every  Freemason  who  rightly 
comprehends  his  art,  this  construction  of  a  living  temple 
is  his  labor. 

"  Labor,"  says  Gadicke,  the  German  masonic  lexicog 
rapher,  u  is  an  important  word  in  Masonry  ;  indeed,  we 
might  say  the  most  important.  For  this,  and  this  alone, 
does  a  man  become  a  Freemason.  Every  other  object  is 
secondary  or  incidental.  Labor  is  the  accustomed  design 
of  every  lodge  meeting.  But  does  such  meeting  always 
furnish  evidence  of  industry?  The  labor  of  an  operative 
mason  will  be  visible,  and  he  will  receive  his  reward  for 
it,  even  though  the  building  he  has  constructed  may,  in 
the  next  hour,  be  overthrown  by  a  tempest.  He  knows 


280  THE    SYMBOLISM    OF    LABOR. 

that  he  has  done  his  labor.  And  so  must  the  Freemason 
labor.  His  labor  must  be  visible  to  himself  and  to  his 
brethren,  or,  at  least,  it  must  conduce  to  his  own  internal 
satisfaction.  As  we  build  neither  a  visible  Solomonic 
temple  nor  an  Egyptian  pyramid,  our  industry  must 
become  visible  in  works  that  are  imperishable,  so  that 
when  we  vanish  from  the  eyes  of  mortals  it  may  be  said 
of  us  that  our  labor  was  well  done." 

And  remembering  what  the  apostle  has  said,  that  we 
are  the  temple  of  God,  and  that  the  Spirit  of  God  dwelleth 
in  us,  we  know  that  our  labor  is  so  to  build  that  temple 
that  it  shall  become  worthy  of  its  divine  Dweller. 

And  thus,  too,  at  last,  we  can  understand  the  saying 
of  the  old  monks  that  "  labor  is  worship  ;"  and  as  Masons 
we  labor  in  our  lodge,  labor  to  make  ourselves  a  perfect 
building,  without  blemish,  working  hopefully  for  the  con 
summation,  when  the  house  of  our  earthly  tabernacle  shall 
be  finished,  when  the  LOST  WORD  of  divine  truth  shall  at 
last  be  discovered,  and  when  we  shall  be  found  by  our 
own  efforts  at  perfection  to  have  done  God  service.  For 
so  truly  is  the  meaning  of  those  noble  words — LABOR 
is  WORSHIP. 


XXX. 


THE    STONE   OF   FOUNDATION.* 


Stone  of  Foundation  constitutes  one  of  the 
most  important  and  abstruse  of  all  the  symbols 
°f  Freemasonry.  It  is  referred  to  in  numerous 
legends  and  traditions,  not  only  of  the  Freemasons,  but 
also  of  the  Jewish  Rabbins,  the  Talmudic  writers,  and 
even  the  Mussulman  doctors.  Many  of  these,  it  must  be 
confessed,  are  apparently  puerile  and  absurd  ;  but  some 
of  them,  and  especially  the  masonic  ones,  are  deeply 
interesting  in  their  allegorical  signification. 

The  Stone  of  Foundation  is,  properly  speaking,  a 
symbol  of  the  higher  degrees.  It  makes  its  first  appear 
ance  in  the  Royal  Arch,  and  forms,  indeed,  the  most 
important  symbol  of  that  degree.  But  it  is  so  intimately 
connected,  in  its  legendary  history,  with  the  construction 
of  the  Solomonic  temple,  that  it  must  be  considered  as 
a  part  of  Ancient  Craft  Masonry,  although  he  who  con 
fines  the  range  of  his  investigations  to  the  first  three 

*  A  portion  of  this  essaj',  but  in  a  very  abridged  form,  was  used 
by  the  author  in  his  work  on  "  Cryptic  Masonry." 

281 


282  THE    STONE    OF   FOUNDATION. 

degrees,  will  have  no  means,  within  that  narrow  limit, 
of  properly  appreciating  the  symbolism  of  the  Stone  of 
Foundation. 

As  preliminary  to  the  inquiry  which  is  about  to  be 
instituted,  it  is  necessary  to  distinguish  the  Stone  of 
Foundation,  both  in  its  symbolism  and  in  its  legendary 
history,  from  other  stones  which  play  an  important  part 
in  the  masonic  ritual,  but  which  are  entirely  distinct 
from  it.  Such  are  the  corner-stone,  which  was  always 
placed  in  the  north-east  corner  of  the  building  about  to 
be  erected,  and  to  which  such  a  beautiful  reference  is 
made  in  the  ceremonies  of  the  first  degree  ;  or  the  key 
stone,  which  constitutes  an  interesting  part  of  the  Mark 
Master's  degree  ;  or,  lastly,  the  cape-stone,  upon  which 
all  the  ritual  of  the  Most  Excellent  Master's  degree  is 
founded.  These  are  all,  in  their  proper  places,  highly 
interesting  and  instructive  symbols,  but  have  no  connec 
tion  whatever  with  the  Stone  of  Foundation  or  its  sym 
bolism.  Nor,  although  the  Stone  of  Foundation  is  said, 
for  peculiar  reasons,  to  have  been  of  a  cubical  form,  must 
it  be  confounded  with  that  stone  called  by  the  continental 
Masons  the  cubical  stone — the  pierre  cubique  of  the 
French,  and  the  cubik  stein  of  the  German  Masons,  but 
which  in  the  English  system  is  known  as  the  perfect 
ashlar. 

The  Stone  of  Foundation  has  a  legendary  history  and 
a  symbolic  signification  which  are  peculiar  to  itself,  and 
which  differ  from  the  history  and  meaning  which  belong 
to  these  other  stones. 

Let  us  first  define  this  masonic  Stone  of  Foundation, 
then  collate  the  legends  which  refer  to  it,  and  afterwards 
investigate  its  significance  as  a4symbol.  To  the  Mason 


THE    STONE    OF    FOUNDATION.  283 

who  takes  a  pleasure  in  the  study  of  the  mysteries  of  his 
institution,  the  investigation  cannot  fail  to  be  interesting, 
if  it  is  conducted  with  any  ability. 

But  in  the  very  beginning,  as  a  necessary  preliminary  to 
any  investigation  of  this  kind,  it  must  be  distinctly  under 
stood  that  all  that  is  said  of  this  Stone  of  Foundation  in 
Masonry  is  to  be  strictly  taken  in  a  mythical  or  allegorical 
sense.  Dr.  Oliver,  the  most  learned  of  our  masonic 
writers,  while  undoubtedly  himself  knowing  that  it  was 
simply  a  symbol,  has  written  loosely  of  it,  as  though  it 
were  a  substantial  reality  ;  and  hence,  if  the  passages  in 
his  "  Historical  Landmarks,"  and  in  his  other  works 
which  refer  to  this  celebrated  stone  are  accepted  by  his 
readers  in  a  literal  sense,  they  will  present  absurdities 
and  puerilities  which  would  not  occur  if  the  Stone  of 
Foundation  was  received,  as  it  really  is,  as  a  philosophical 
myth,  conveying  a  most  profound  and  beautiful  symbol 
ism.  Read  in  this  spirit,  as  all  the  legends  of  Masonry 
should  be  read,  the  mythical  story  of  the  Stone  of  Foun 
dation  becomes  one  of  the  most  important  and  interesting 
of  all  the  masonic  symbols. 

The  Stone  of  Foundation  is  supposed,  by  the  theory 
which  establishes  it,  to  have  been  a  stone  placed  at  one 
time  within  the  foundations  of  the  temple  of  Solomon, 
and  afterwards,  during  the  building  of  the  second  temple, 
transported  to  the  Holy  of  Holies.  It  was  in  form  a 
perfect  cube,  and  had  inscribed  upon  its  upper  face, 
within  a  delta  or  triangle,  the  sacred  tetragrammaton, 
or  ineffable  name  of  God.  Oliver,  speaking  with  the 
solemnity  of  an  historian,  says  that  Solomon  thought 
that  he  had  rendered  the  house  of  God  worthy,  so  far 
as  human  adornment  could  effect,  for  the  dwelling  of 


284  THE    STONE    OF   FOUNDATION. 

God,  "  when  he  had  placed  the  celebrated  Stone  of 
Foundation,  on  which  the  sacred  name  was  mystically 
engraven,  with  solemn  ceremonies,  in  that  sacred  deposi 
tory  on  Mount  Moriah,  along  with  the  foundations  of 
Dan  and  Asher,  the  centre  of  the  Most  Holy  Place, 
where  the  ark  was  overshadowed  by  the  shekinah  of 
God."  *  The  Hebrew  Talmudists,  who  thought  as  much 
of  this  stone,  and  had  as  many  legends  concerning  it  as 
the  masonic  Talmudists,  called  it  eben  shatijahj\  or 
"  Stone  of  Foundation,"  because,  as  they  said,  it  had  been 
laid  by  Jehovah  as  the  foundation  of  the  world  ;  and  hence 
the  apocryphal  book  of  Enoch  speaks  of  the  "stone  which 
supports  the  corners  of  the  earth." 

This  idea  of  a  foundation  stone  of  the  world  was  most 
probably  derived  from  that  magnificent  passage  of  the 
book  of  Job,  in  which  the  Almighty  demands  of  the 
afflicted  patriarch,  — 

"  Where  wast  thou,  when  I  laid  the  foundation  of  the  earth? 
Declare,  since  thou  hast  such  knowledge!    * 
Who  fixed  its  dimensions,  since  thou  knowest? 
Or  who  stretched  out  the  line  upon  it? 
Upon  what  were  its  foundations  fixed? 
And  who  laid  its  corner-stone, 
When  the  morning  stars  sang  together, 
And  all  the  sons  of  God  shouted  for  joy?"  f 

Noyes,  whose  beautiful  translation  I  have  adopted  as 
not  materially  differing  from  the  common  version,  but 
which  is  far  more  poetical  and  more  in  the  strain  of  the 
original,  thus  explains  the  allusions  to  the  foundation- 

*  Hist.  Landmarks,  i.  4^9,  note  52. 

t  rPTPJ  *pX-    See  the  Gemara  and  Buxtorf  Lex.  Talm.,  p.  2541. 

J  Job  xxxviii.  4-7. 


THE    STONE    OF   FOUNDATION.  '         285 

stone  :  "  It  was  the  custom  to  celebrate  the  laying  of  the 
corner-stone  of  an  important  building  with  music,  .songs, 
shouting,  &c.  Hence  the  morning  stars  are  represent 
ed  as  celebrating  the  laying  of  the  corner-stone  of  the 
earth."  * 

Upon  this  meagre  statement  have  been  accumulated 
more  traditions  than  appertain  to  any  other  masonic 
symbol.  The  Rabbins,  as  has  already  been  intimated, 
divide  the  glory  of  these  apocryphal  histories  with  the 
Masons ;  indeed,  there  is  good  reason  for  a  suspicion 
that  nearly  all  the  masonic  legends  owe  their  first  exist 
ence  to  the  imaginative  genius  of  the  writers  of  the 
Jewish  Talmud.  But  there  is  this  difference  between 
the  Hebrew  and  the  masonic  traditions,  that  the  Talmudic 
scholar  recited  them  as  truthful  histories,  and  swallowed, 
in  one  gulp  of  faith,  all  their  impossibilities  and  anach 
ronisms,  while  the  masonic  student  has  received  them 
as  allegories,  whose  value  is  not  in  the  facts,  but  in  the 
sentiments  which  they  convey. 

With  this  understanding  of  their  meaning,  let  us  pro 
ceed  to  a  collation  of  these  legends. 

In  that  blasphemous  work,  the  ^''Toldoth  Jeshu"  or 
Life  of  Jesus,  written,  it  is  supposed,  in  the  thirteenth 
or  fourteenth  century,  we  find  the  following  account  of 
this  wonderful  stone  :  — 

"  At  that  time  [the  time  of  Jesus]  there  was  in  the 
House  of  the  Sanctuary  [that  is,  the  temple]  a  Stone 
of  Foundation,  which  is  the  very  stone  that  our  father 
Jacob  anointed  with  oil,  as  it  is  described  in  the  twenty- 
eighth  chapter  of  the  book  of  Genesis.  On  that  stone  the 

*  A  New  Translation  of  the  Book  of  Job,  notes,  p.  196. 


286  THE    STONE    OF    FOUNDATION. 

letters  of  the  tetragrammaton  were  inscribed,  and  who 
soever  of  the  Israelites  should  learn  that  name  would  be 
able  to  master  the  world.  To  prevent,  therefore,  any 
one  from  learning  these  letters,  two  iron  dogs  were  placed 
upon  two  columns  in  front  of  the  Sanctuary.  If  any 
person,  having  acquired  the  knowledge  of  these  letters, 
desired  to  depart  from  the  Sanctuary,  the  barking  of  the 
dogs,  by  magical  power,  inspired  so  much  fear,  that  he 
suddenly  forgot  what  he  had  acquired." 

This  passage  is  cited  by  the  learned  Buxtorf,  in  his 
"Lexicon  Talmud i cum ;"  *  but  in  the  copy  of  the  "Tol- 
doth  Jeshu"  which  I  have  the  good  fortune  to  possess 
(for  it  is  among  the  rarest  of  books),  I  find  another  pas 
sage  which  gives  some  additional  particulars,  in  the 
following  words  :  — 

"  At  that  time  there  was  in  the  temple  the  ineffable 
name  of  God,  inscribed  upon  the  Stone  of  Foundation. 
For  when  King  David  was  digging  the  foundation  for 
the  temple,  he  found  in  the  depths  of  the  excavation  a 
certain  stone,  on  which  the  name  of  God  was  inscribed. 
This  stone  he  removed,  and  deposited  it  in  the  Holy  of 
Holies."  t 

The  same  puerile  story  of  the  barking  dogs  is  repeated, 
still  more  at  length.  It  is  not  pertinent  to  the  present 

*  In  voc.  j-p^ilEJ*  where  some  other  curious  extracts  from  the 
Talmud  and  Talmudic  writers  on  the  subject  of  the  Stone  of  Foun 
dation  are  given. 

f  Sepher  Toldoth  Jeshu,  p.  6.  The  abominably  scurrilous  char 
acter  of  this  work  aroused  the  indignation  of  the  Christians,  who, 
in  the  fifteenth  century,  were  not  distinguished  for  a  spirit  of 
tolerance,  and  the  Jews,  becoming  alarmed,  made  every  effort  to 
suppress  it.  But,  in  1681,  it  was  republished  by  Wagenselius  in 
his  "Tela  Ignea  Satanse,"  with  a  Latin  translation. 


THE    STONE    OF    FOUNDATION.  287 

inquiry,  but  it  may  be  stated  as  a  mere  matter  of  curious 
information,  that  this  scandalous  book,  which  is  through 
out  a  blasphemous  defamation  of  our  Saviour,  proceeds 
to  say,  that  he  cunningly  obtained  a  knowledge  of  the 
tetragrammaton  from  the  Stone  of  Foundation,  and  by  its 
mystical  influence  was  enabled  to  perform  his  miracles. 

The  masonic  legends  of  the  Stone  of  Foundation, 
based  on  these  and  other  rabbinical  reveries,  are  of  the 
most  extraordinary  character,  if  they  are  to  be  viewed 
as  histories,  but  readily  reconcilable  with  sound  sense, 
if  looked  at  only  in  the  light  of  allegories.  They  present 
an  uninterrupted  succession  of  events,  in  which  the  Stone 
of  Foundation  takes  a  prominent  part,  from  Adam  to 
Solomon,  and  from  Solomon  to  Zerubbabel. 

Thus  the  first  of  these  legends,  in  order  of  time,  re 
lates  that  the  Stone  of  Foundation  was  possessed  by 
Adam  while  in  the  garden  of  Eden  ;  that  he  used  it  as 
an  altar,  and  so  reverenced  it,  that,  on  his  expulsion  from 
Paradise,  he  carried  it  with  him  into  the  world  in  which 
he  and  his  descendants  were  afterwards  to  earn  their 
bread  by  the  sweat  of  their  brow. 

Another  legend  informs  us  that  from  Adam  the  Stone 
of  Foundation  descended  to  Seth.  From  Seth  it  passed 
by  regular  succession  to  Noah,  who  took  it  with  him  into 
the  ark,  and  after  the  subsidence  of  the  deluge,  made  on 
it  his  first  thank-offering.  Noah  left  it  on  Mount  Ararat, 
where  it  was  subsequently  found  by  Abraham,  who  re 
moved  it,  and  consequently  used  it  as  an  altar  of  sacrifice. 
His  grandson  Jacob  took  it  with  him  when  he  fled  to  his 
uncle  Laban  in  Mesopotamia,  and  used  it  as  a  pillow 
when,  in  the  vicinity  of  Luz,  he  had  his  celebrated 
vision. 


288  THE    STONE    OF    FOUNDATION. 

Here  there  is  a  sudden  interruption  in  the  legendary 
history  of  the  sto-ne,  and  we  have  no  means  of  conjectur 
ing  how  it  passed  from  the  possession  of  Jacob  into  that 
of  Solomon.  Moses,  it  is  true,  is  said  to  have  taken  it 
with  him  out  of  Egypt  at  the  time  of  the  exodus,  and 
thus  it  may  have  finally  reached  Jerusalem.  Dr.  Adam 
Clarke  *  repeats  what  he  very  properly  calls  "  a  foolish 
tradition,"  that  the  stone  on  which  Jacob  rested  his  head 
was  afterwards  brought  to  Jerusalem,  thence  carried  after 
a  long  lapse  of  time  to  Spain,  from  Spain  to  Ireland,  and 
from  Ireland  to  Scotland,  where  it  was  used  as  a  seat  on 
which  the  kings  of  Scotland  sat  to  be  crowned.  Edward 
L,  we  know,  brought  a  stone,  to  which  this  legend  is 
attached,  from  Scotland  to  Westminster  Abbey,  where, 
under  the  name  of  Jacob's  Pillow,  it  still  remains,  and  is 
always  placed  under  the  chair  upon  which  the  British 
sovereign  sits  to  be  crowned,  because  there  is  an  old 
distich  which  declares  that  wherever  this  stone  is  found 
the  Scottish  kings  shall  reign. f 

But  this  Scottish  tradition  would  take  the  Stone  of 
Foundation  away  from  all  its  masonic  connections,  and 
therefore  it  is  rejected  as  a  masonic  legend. 

The  legends  just  related  are  in  many  respects  contra 
dictory  and  unsatisfactory,  and  another  series,  equally  as 
old,  are  now  very  generally  adopted  by  masonic  scholars, 
as  much  better  suited  to  the  symbolism  by  which  all  these 
legends  are  explained. 

This  series  of  legends  commences  with  the  patriarch 
Enoch,  who  is  supposed  to  have  been  the  first  consecrator 

*  Comment,  on  Gen.  xxviii.  18. 

t  "  Ni  fallit  fatum,  Scoti  quocunque  locatum 

Invenient  lapidem,  regnare  tenentur  ibidem." 


THE    STONE    OF    FOUNDATION.  289 

of  the  Stone  of  Foundation.  The  legend  of  Enoch  is  so 
interesting  and  important  in  masonic  science  as  to  excuse 
something  more  than  a  brief  reference  to  the  incidents 
which  it  details. 

The  legend  in  full  is  as  follows:  Enoch,  under  the 
inspiration  of  the  Most  High,  and  in  obedience  to  the 
instructions  which  he  had  received  in  a  vision,  built  a 
temple  under  ground  on  Mount  Moriah,  and  dedicated 
it  to  God.  His  son,  Methuselah,  constructed  the  build 
ing,  although  he  was  not  acquainted  with  his  father's 
motives  for  the  erection.  This  temple  consisted  of  nine 
vaults,  situated  perpendicularly  beneath  each  other,  and 
communicating  by  apertures  left  in  each  vault. 

Enoch  then  caused  a  triangular  plate  of  gold  to  be 
made,  each  side  of  which  was  a  cubit  long ;  he  enriched 
it  with  the  most  precious  stones,  and  encrusted  the  plate 
upon  a  stone  of  agate  of  the  same  form.  On  the  plate  he 
engraved  the  true  name  of  God,  or  the  tetragrammaton, 
and  placing  it  on  a  cubical  stone,  known  thereafter  as  the 
Stone  of  Foundation,  he  deposited  the  whole  within  the 
lowest  arch. 

When  this  subterranean  building  was  completed,  he 
made  a  door  of  stone,  and  attaching  to  it  a  ring  of  iron, 
by  which  it  might  be  occasionally  raised,  he  placed  it 
over  the  opening  of  the  uppermost  arch,  and  so  covered 
it  that  the  aperture  could  not  be  discovered.  Enoch 
himself  was  not  permitted  to  enter  it  but  once  a  year, 
and  after  the  days  of  Enoch,  Methuselah,  and  Lamech, 
and  the  destruction  of  the  world  by  the  deluge,  all  knowl 
edge  of  the  vault  or  subterranean  temple,  and  of  the 
Stone  of  Foundation,  with  the  sacred  and  ineffable  name 
inscribed  upon  it,  was  lost  for  ages  to  the  world. 
19 


290  THE    STONE    OF    FOUNDATION. 

At  the  building  of  the  first  temple  of  Jerusalem,  the 
Stone  of  Foundation  again  makes  its  appearance.  Ref 
erence  has  already  been  made  to  the  Jewish  tradition  that 
David,  when  digging  the  foundations  of  the  temple,  found 
in  the  excavation  which  he  was  making  a  certain  stone, 
on  which  the  ineffable  name  of  God  w7as  inscribed,  and 
which  stone  he  is  said  to  have  removed  and  deposited  in 
the  Holy  of  Holies.  That  King  David  laid  the  founda 
tions  of  the  temple  upon  which  the  superstructure  was 
subsequently  erected  by  Solomon,  is  a  favorite  theory  of 
the  legend-mongers  of  the  Talmud. 

The  masonic  tradition  is  substantially  the  same  as  the 
Jewish,  but  it  substitutes  Solomon  for  David,  thereby 
giving  a  greater  air  of  probability  to  the  narrative  ;  and 
it  supposes  that  the  stone  thus  discovered  by  Solomon 
was  the  identical  one  that  had  been  deposited  in  his 
secret  vault  by  Enoch.  This  Stone  of  Foundation,  the 
tradition  states,  was  subsequently  removed  by  King  Solo 
mon,  and,  for  wise  purposes,  deposited  in  a  secret  and 
safer  place. 

In  this  the  masonic  tradition  again  agrees  with  the 
Jewish,  for  we  find  in  the  third  chapter  of  the  "Treatise 
on  the  Temple"  written  by  the  celebrated  Maimonides, 
the  following  narrative  :  — 

"  There  was  a  stone  in  the  Holy  of  Holies,  on  its  west 
side,  on  which  was  placed  the  ark  of  the  covenant,  and 
before  it  the  pot  of  manna  and  Aaron's  rod.  But  when 
Solomon  had  built  the  temple,  and  foresaw  that  it  was, 
at  some  future  time,  to  be  destroyed,  he  constructed  a 
deep  and  winding  vault  under  ground,  for  the  purpose 
of  concealing  the  ark,  wherein  Josiah  afterwards,  as  we 
learn  in  the  Second  Book  of  Chronicles,  xxxv.  3,  depos- 


THE    STONE    OF    FOUNDATION.  29! 

ited  it,  with  the  pot  of  manna,  the  rod  of  Aaron,  and  the 
oil  of  anointing." 

The  Talmudical  book  "jToma"  gives  the  same  tradi 
tion,  and  says  that  "  the  ark  of  the  covenant  was  placed 
in  the  centre  of  the  Holy  of  Holies,  upon  a  stone  rising 
three  fingers'  breadth  above  the  floor,  to  be,  as  it  were,  a 
pedestal  for  it."  u  This  stone,"  says  Prideaux,*  "  the 
Rabbins  call  the  Stone  of  Foundation,  and  give  us  a 
great  deal  of  trash  about  it." 

There  is  much  controversy  as  to  the  question  of  the 
existence  of  any  ark  in  the  second  temple.  Some  of  the 
Jewish  writers  assert  that  a  new  one  was  made ;  others, 
that  the  old  one  was  found  where  it  had  been  concealed 
by  Solomon  ;  and  others  again  contend  that  there  was  no 
ark  at  all  in  the  temple  of  Zerubbabel,  but  that  its  place 
was  supplied  by  the  Stone  of  Foundation  on  which  it  had 
originally  rested. 

Royal  Arch  Masons  well  know  how  all  these  traditions 
are  sought  to  be  reconciled  by  the  masonic  legend,  in 
which  the  substitute  ark  and  the  Stone  of  Foundation 
play  so  important  a  part. 

In  the  thirteenth  degree  of  the  Ancient  and  Accepted 
Rite,  the  Stone  of  Foundation  is  conspicuous  as  the 
resting-place  of  the  sacred  delta. 

In  the  Royal  Arch  and  Select  Master's  degrees  of  the 
Americanized  York  Rite,  the  Stone  of  Foundation  con 
stitutes  the  most  important  part  of  the  ritual.  In  both  of 
these  it  is  the  receptacle  of  the  ark,  on  which  the  ineffable 
name  is  inscribed. 

Lee,  in  his  "Temple  of  Solomon"  has  devoted  a  chap- 

*  Old  and  New  Testament  connected,  vol.  i.  p.  148. 


292  THE    STONE    OF    FOUNDATION. 

ter  to  this  Stone  of  Foundation,  and  thus  recapitulates  the 
Talmudic  and  Rabbinical  traditions  on  the  subject :  — 

"  Vain  and  futilous  are  the  feverish  dreams  of  the  an 
cient  Rabbins  concerning  the  Foundation  Stone  of  the 
temple.  Some  assert  that  God  placed  this  stone  in  the 
centre  of  the  world,  for  a  future  basis  and  settled  consis 
tency  for  the  earth  to  rest  upon.  Others  held  this  stone 
to  be  the  first  matter,  out  of  which  all  the  beautiful  visible 
beings  of  the  world  have  been  hewn  forth  and  produced 
to  light.  Others  relate  that  this  was  the  very  same  stone 
laid  by  Jacob  for  a  pillow  under  his  head,  in  that  night 
when  he  dreamed  of  an  angelic  vision  at  Bethel,  and 
afterwards  anointed  and  consecrated  it  to  God.  Which 
when  Solomon  had  found  (no  doubt  by  forged  revelation, 
or  some  tedious  search,  like  another  Rabbi  Selemoh),  he 
durst  not  but  lay  it  sure,  as  the  principal  foundation 
stone  of  the  temple.  Nay,  they  say  further,  he  caused 
to  be  engraved  upon  it  the  tetragrammaton,  or  the  ineffa 
ble  name  of  Jehovah."  * 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  masonic  traditions  on  the  sub 
ject  of  the  Stone  of  Foundation  do  not  differ  very  mate 
rially  from  these  Rabbinical  ones,  although  they  give  a 
few  additional  circumstances. 

In  the  masonic  legend,  the  Foundation  Stone  first  makes 
its  appearance,  as  I  have  already  said,  in  the  days  of 
Enoch,  who  placed  it  in  the  bowels  of  Mount  Moriah. 
There  it  was  subsequently  discovered  by  King  Solomon, 
who  deposited  it  in  a  crypt  of  the  first  temple,  where  it 
remained  concealed  until  the  foundations  of  the  second 

*  The  Temple  of  Solomon,  pourtrayed  by  Scripture  Light, 
ch.  ix.  p.  194.  Of  the  Mysteries  laid  up  in  the  Foundation  of  the 
Temple. 


THE    STONE    OF    FOUNDATION.  293 

temple  were  laid,  when  it  was  discovered  and  removed 
to  the  Holy  of  Holies.  But  the  most  important  point  of 
the  legend  of  the  Stone  of  Foundation  is  its  intimate  and 
constant  connection  with  the  tetragrammaton,  or  ineffable 
name.  It  is  this  name,  inscribed  upon  it,  within  the 
sacred  and  symbolic  delta,  that  gives  to  the  stone  all  its 
masonic  value  and  significance.  It  is  upon  this  fact,  that 
it  was  so  inscribed,  that  its  whole  symbolism  depends. 

Looking  at  these  traditions  in  anything  like  the  light  of 
historical  narratives,  we  are  compelled  to  consider  them, 
to  use  the  plain  language  of  Lee,  "  but  as  so  many  idle 
and  absurd  conceits."  We  must  go  behind  the  legend, 
viewing  it  only  as  an  allegory,  and  study  its  symbolism. 

The  symbolism  of  the  Foundation  Stone  of  Masonry  is 
therefore  the  next  subject  of  investigation. 

In  approaching  this,  the  most  abstruse,  and  one  of  the 
most  important,  symbols  of  the  Order,  we  are  at  once 
impressed  with  its  apparent  connection  with  the  ancient 
doctrine  of  stone  worship.  Some  brief  consideration  of 
this  species  of  religious  culture  is  therefore  necessary  for 
a  proper  understanding  of  the  real  symbolism  of  the  Stone 
of  Foundation. 

The  worship  of  stones  is  a  kind  of  fetichism,  which  in 
the  very  infancy  of  religion  prevailed,  perhaps,  more 
extensively  than  any  other  form  of  religious  culture. 
Lord  Kames  explains  the  fact  by  supposing  that  stones 
erected  as  monuments  of  the  dead  became  the  place 
where  posterity  paid  their  veneration  to  the  memory  of 
the  deceased,  and  that  at  length  the  people,  losing  sight 
of  the  emblematical  signification,  which  was  not  readily 
understood,  these  monumental  stones  became  objects  of 
worship. 


294  THE    STONE    OF    FOUNDATION. 

Others  have  sought  to  find  the  origin  of  stone-worship 
in  the  stone  that  was  set  up  and  anointed  by  Jacob  at 
Bethel,  and  the  tradition  of  which  had  extended  into  the 
heathen  nations  and  become  corrupted.  It  is  certain  that 
the  Phoenicians  worshipped  sacred  stones  under  the  name 
of  Bcetylia,  which  word  is  evidently  derived  from  the 
Hebrew  Bethel',  and  this  undoubtedly  gives  some  appear 
ance  of  plausibility  to  the  theory. 

But  a  third  theory  supposes  that  the  worship  of  stones 
was  derived  from  the  unskilfulness  of  the  primitive  sculp 
tors,  who,  unable  to  frame,  by  their  meagre  principles  of 
plastic  art,  a  true  image  of  the  God  whom  they  adored, 
were  content  to  substitute  in  its  place  a  rude  or  scarcely 
polished  stone.  Hence  the  Greeks,  according  to  Pausa- 
nias,  originally  used  unhewn  stones  to  represent  their 
deities,  thirty  of  which  that  historian  says  he  saw  in  the 
city  of  Pharae.  These  stones  were  of  a  cubical  form,  and 
as  the  greater  number  of  them  were  dedicated  to  the  god 
Hermes,  or  Mercury,  they  received  the  generic  name  of 
Hermce.  Subsequently,  with  the  improvement  of  the 
plastic  art,  the  head  was  added.* 

One  of  these  consecrated  stones  was  placed  before  the 
door  of  almost  every  house  in  Athens.  They  were  also 
placed  in  front  of  the  temples,  in  the  gymnasia  or  schools, 
in  libraries,  and  at  the  corners  of  streets,  and  in  the  roads. 
When  dedicated  to  the  god  Terminus  they  were  used  as 
landmarks,  and  placed  as  such  upon  the  concurrent  lines 
of  neighboring  possessions. 

The  Thebans  worshipped  Bacchus  under  the  form  of  a 
rude,  square  stone. 

*  See  Pausanias,  lib.  iv. 


THE    STONE    OF    FOUNDATION. 


295 


Arnobius*  says  that  Cybele  was  represented  by  a  small 
stone  of  a  black  color.  Eusebius  cites  Porphyry  as  saying 
that  the  ancients  represented  the  deity  by  a  black  stone, 
because  his  nature  is  obscure  and  inscrutable.  The  reader 
will  here  be  reminded  of  the  black  stone  Hadsjar  cl 
Aswad,  placed  in  the  south-west  corner  of  the  Kaaba  at 
Mecca,  which  was  worshipped  by  the  ancient  Arabians, 
and  is  still  treated  with  religious  veneration  by  the  mod 
ern  Mohammedans.  The  Mussulman  priests,  however, 
say  that  it  was  originally  white,  and  of  such  surprising 
splendor  that  it  could  be  seen  at  the  distance  of  four  days' 
journey,  but  that  it  has  been  blackened  by  the  tears  of 
pilgrims. 

The  Druids,  it  is  well  known,  had  no  other  images  of 
their  gods  but  cubical,  or  sometimes  columnar,  stones,  of 
which  Toland  gives  several  instances. 

The  Chaldeans  had  a  sacred  stone,  which  they  held  in 
great  veneration,  under  the  name  of  Mnizuris,  and  to 
which  they  sacrificed  for  the  purpose  of  evoking  the 
Good  Demon. 

Stone-worship  existed  among  the  early  American  races. 
Squier  quotes  Skinner  as  asserting  that  the  Peruvians  used 
to  set  up  rough  stones  in  their  fields  and  plantations,  which 
were  worshipped  as  protectors  of  their  crops.  And  Gama 
says  that  in  Mexico  the  presiding  god  of  the  spring  was 
often  represented  without  a  human  body,  and  in  place 
thereof  a  pilaster  or  square  column,  whose  pedestal  was 
covered  with  various  sculptures. 

Indeed,  so  universal  was  this  stone-worship,  that  Hig- 

*  The  "Disputationes  adversus  Gentes"  of  Arnobius  supplies 
us  with  a  fund  of  information  on  the  symbolism  of  the  classic 
mythology. 


296  THE    STONE    OF    FOUNDATION. 

gins,  in  his  "  Celtic  Druids"  says  that,  "  throughout  the 
world  the  first  object  of  idolatry  seems  to  have  been  a 
plain,  unwrought  stone,  placed  in  the  ground,  as  an  em 
blem  of  the  generative  or  procreative  powers  of  nature." 
And  the  learned  Bryant,  in  his  "Analysis  of  Ancient 
Mythology"  asserts  that  "  there  is  in  every  oracular  tem 
ple  some  legend  about  a  stone." 

Without  further  citations  of  examples  from  the  religious 
usages  of  other  countries,  it  will,  I  think,  be  conceded  that 
the  cubical  stone  formed  an  important  part  of  the  religious 
•worship  of  primitive  nations.  But  Cudworth,  Bryant, 
Faber,  and  all  other  distinguished  writers  who  have 
treated  the  subject,  have  long  since  established  the  theory 
that  the  pagan  religions  were  eminently  symbolic. 
Thus,  to  use  the  language  of  Dudley,  the  pillar  or  stone 
"  was  adopted  as  a  symbol  of  strength  and  firmness,  —  a 
symbol,  also,  of  the  divine  power,  and,  by  a  ready  infer 
ence,  a  symbol  or  idol  of  the  Deity  himself."*  And  this 
symbolism  is  confirmed  by  Cornutus,  who  says  that  the 
god  Hermes  wras  represented  without  hands  or  feet,  being 
a  cubical  stone,  because  the  cubical  figure  betokened  his 
solidity  and  stability.! 

Thus,  then,  the  following  facts  have  been  established, 
but  not  precisely  in  this  order  :  First,  that  there  was  a 
very  general  prevalence  among  the  earliest  nations  of 
antiquity  of  the  worship  of  stones  as  the  representatives 
of  Deity  ;  secondly,  that  in  almost  every  ancient  temple 
there  was  a  legend  of  a  sacred  or  mystical  stone  ;  thirdly, 
that  this  legend  is  found  in  the  masonic  system  ;  and  last 
ly,  that  the  mystical  stone  there  has  received  the  name  of 
the  "  Stone  of  Foundation." 

*  Naology,  ch.  iii.  p.  119.  f  Cornut.  de  Nat.  Deor.  c.  16. 


THE    STONE    OF    FOUNDATION.  297 

Now,  as  in  all  the  other  systems  the  stone  is  admitted 
to  be  symbolic,  and  the  tradition  connected  with  it  mys 
tical,  we  are  compelled  to  assume  the  same  predicates  of 
the  masonic  stone.  It,  too,  is  symbolic,  and  its  legend  a 
myth  or  an  allegory. 

Of  the  fable,  myth,  or  allegory,  Bailly  has  said  that, 
"  subordinate  to  history  and  philosophy,  it  only  deceives 
that  it  may  the  better  instruct  us.  Faithful  in  preserving 
the  realities  which  are  confided  to  it,  it  covers  with  its 
seductive  envelope  the  lessons  of  the  one  and  the  truths 
of  the  other."*  It  is  from  this  stand-point  that  we  are  to 
view  the  allegory  of  the  Stone  of  Foundation,  as  devel 
oped  in  one  of  the  most  interesting  and  important  sym 
bols  of  Masonry. 

The  fact  that  the  mystical  stone  in  all  the  ancient  re 
ligions  was  a  symbol  of  the  Deity,  leads  us  necessarily  to 
the  conclusion  that  the  Stone  of  Foundation  was  also  a 
symbol  of  Deity.  And  this  symbolic  idea  is  strengthened 
by  the  tetragrammaton,  or  sacred  name  of  God,  that  was 
inscribed  upon  it.  This  ineffable  name  sanctifies  the 
stone  upon  which  it  is  engraved  as  the  symbol  of  the 
Grand  Architect.  It  takes  from  it  its  heathen  significa 
tion  as  an  idol,  and  consecrates  it  to  the  worship  of  the 
true  God. 

The  predominant  idea  of  the  Deity,  in  the  masonic 
system,  connects  him  with  his  creative  and  formative 
power.  God  is,  to  the  Freemason,  Al  Gabil,  as  the  Ara 
bians  called  him,  that  is,  The  Builder ;  or,  as  expressed 
in  his  masonic  title,  the  Grand  Architect  of  the  Universe, 
by  common  consent  abbreviated  in  the  formula  G.  A.  O. 
T.  U.  Now,  it  is  evident  that  no  symbol  could  so  appro- 

*  Essais  sur  les  Fables,  t.  i.  lett.  2.  p.  9. 


298  THE    STONE    OF    FOUNDATION. 

priately  suit  him  in  this  character  as  the  Stone  of  Foun 
dation,  upon  which  he  is  allegorically  supposed  to  have 
erected  his  world.  Such  a  symbol  closely  connects  the 
creative  work  of  God,  as  a  pattern  and  exemplar,  with 
the  workman's  erection  of  his  temporal  building  on  a 
similar  foundation  stone. 

But  this  masonic  idea  is  still  further  to  be  extended. 
The  great  object  of  all  Masonic  labor  is  divine  truth. 
The  search  for  the  lost  word  is  the  search  for  truth.  But 
divine  truth  is  a  term  synonymous  with  God.  The  inef 
fable  name  is  a  symbol  of  truth,  because  God,  and  God 
alone,  is  truth.  It  is  properly  a  scriptural  idea.  The 
Book  of  Psalms  abounds  with  this  sentiment.  Thus  it 
is  said  that  the  truth  of  the  Lord  "  reacheth  unto  the 
clouds,"  and  that  "  his  truth  endureth  unto  all  genera 
tions."  If,  then,  God  is  truth,  and  the  Stone  of  Founda 
tion  is  the  masonic  symbol  of  God,  it  follows  that  it  must 
also  be  the  symbol  of  divine  truth. 

When  we  have  arrived  at  this  point  in  our  speculations, 
we  are  ready  to  show  how  all  the  myths  and  legends  of 
the  Stone  of  Foundation  may  be  rationally  explained  r»s 
parts  of  that  beautiful  "  science  of  morality,  veiled  in 
allegory  and  illustrated  by  symbols,"  which  is  the  ac 
knowledged  definition  of  Freemasonry. 

In  the  masonic  system  there  are  two  temples ;  the  first 
temple,  in  which  the  degrees  of  Ancient  Craft  Masonry 
are  concerned,  and  the  second  temple,  with  which  the 
higher  degrees,  and  especially  the  Royal  Arch,  are  re 
lated.  The  first  temple  is  symbolic  of  the  present  life ; 
the  second  temple  is  symbolic  of  the  life  to  come.  The 
first  temple,  the  present  life,  must  be  destroyed  ;  on  its 
foundations  the  second  temple,  the  life  eternal,  must  be 
built. 


THE    STONE    OF    FOUNDATION.  299 

But  the  mystical  stone  was  placed  by  King  Solomon 
in  the  foundations  of  the  first  temple.  That  is  to  say, 
the  first  temple  of  our  present  life  must  be  built  on  the 
sure  foundation  of  divine  truth,  "  for  other  foundation 
can  no  man  lay." 

But  although  the  present  life  is  necessarily  built  upon 
the  foundation  of  truth,  yet  we  never  thoroughly  attain 
it  in  this  sublunary  sphere.  The  Foundation  Stone  is 
concealed  in  the  first  temple,  and  the  Master  Mason 
knows  it  not.  He  has  not  the  true  word.  He  receives 
only  a  substitute. 

But  in  the  second  temple  of  the  future  life,  we  have 
passed  from  the  grave,  which  had  been  the  end  of  our 
labors  in  the  first.  We  have  removed  the  rubbish,  and 
have  found  that  Stone  of  Foundation  which  had  been  hith 
erto  concealed  from  our  eyes.  We  now  throw  aside  the 
substitute  for  truth  which  had  contented  us  in  the  former 
temple,  and  the  brilliant  effulgence  of  the  tetragrammaton 
and  the  Stone  of  Foundation  are  discovered,  and  thence 
forth  we  are  the  possessors  of  the  true  word  —  of  divine 
truth.  And  in  this  way,  the  Stone  of  Foundation,  or 
divine  truth,  concealed  in  the  first  temple,  but  discovered 
and  brought  to  light  in  the  second,  will  explain  that  pas 
sage  of  the  apostle,  "  For  now  we  see  through  a  glass 
darkly,  but  then  face  to  face:  now  I  know  in  part;  but 
then  shall  I  know  even  as  also  I  am  known." 

And  so,  the  result  of  this  inquiry  is,  that  the  masonic 
Stone  of  Foundation  is  a  symbol  of  divine  truth,  upon 
which  all  Speculative  Masonry  is  built,  and  the  legends 
and  traditions  which  refer  to  it  are  intended  to  describe, 
in  an  allegorical  way,  the  progress  of  truth  in  the  soul, 
the  search  for  which  is  a  Mason's  labor,  and  the  discovery 
of  which  is  his  reward. 


XXXI. 

THE  LOST  WORD. 

last  of  the  symbols,  depending  for  its  exist- 
ence  on  its  connection  with  a  myth  to  which  I 
shall  invite  attention,  is  the  Lost  Word,  and  the 
search  for  it.  Very  appropriately  may  this  symbol 
terminate  our  investigations,  since  it  includes  within  its 
comprehensive  scope  all  the  others,  being  itself  the  very 
essence  of  the  science  of  masonic  symbolism.  The  other 
symbols  require  for  their  just  appreciation  a  knowledge 
of  the  origin  of  the  order,  because  they  owe  their  birth 
to  its  relationship  with  kindred  and  anterior  institutions. 
But  the  symbolism  of  the  Lost  Word  has  reference  ex 
clusively  to  the  design  and  the  objects  of  the  institution. 

First,  let  us  define  the  symbol,  and  then  investigate  its 
interpretation. 

The  mythical  history  of  Freemasonry  informs  us  that 
there  once  existed  a  WORD  of  surpassing  value,  and 
claiming  a  profound  veneration ;  that  this  Word  was 
known  to  but  few  ;  that  it  was  at  length  lost ;  and  that 
a  temporary  substitute  for  it  was  adopted.  But  as  the 

300 


THE    LOST    WORD.  30 1 

very  philosophy  of  Masonry  teaches  us  that  there  can  be 
no  death  without  a  resurrection,  —  no  decay  without  a 
subsequent  restoration,  —  on  the  same  principle  it  fol 
lows  that  the  loss  of  the  Word  must  suppose  its  eventual 
recovery. 

Now,  this  it  is,  precisely,  that  constitutes  the  myth  of 
the  Lost  Word  and  the  search  for  it.  No  matter  what 
was  the  word,  no  matter  how  it  was  lost,  nor  why  a  sub 
stitute  was  provided,  nor  when  nor  where  it  was  recov 
ered.  These  are  all  points  of  subsidiary  importance, 
necessary,  it  is  true,  for  knowing  the  legendary  history, 
but  not  necessary  for  understanding  the  symbolism.  The 
only  term  of  the  myth  that  is  to  be  regarded  in  the  study 
of  its  interpretation,  is  the  abstract  idea  of  a  word  lost 
and  afterwards  recovered. 

This,  then,  points  us  to  the  goal  to  which  we  must 
direct  our  steps  in  the  pursuit  of  the  investigation. 

But  the  symbolism,  referring  in  this  case,  as  I  have 
already  said,  solely  to  the  great  design  of  Freemasonry, 
the  nature  of  that  design  at  once  suggests  itself  as  a  pre 
liminary  subject  of  inquiry  in  the  investigation. 

What,  then,  is  the  design  of  Freemasonry?  A  very 
large  majority  of  its  disciples,  looking  only  to  its  practi 
cal  results,  as  seen  in  the  every-day  business  of  life,  —  to 
the  noble  charities  which  it  dispenses,  to  the  tears  of 
widows  which  it  has  dried,  to  the  cries  of  orphans  which 
it  has  hushed,  to  the  wants  of  the  destitute  which  it  has 
supplied,  —  arrive  with  too  much  rapidity  at  the  conclu 
sion  that  Charity,  and  that,  too,  in  its  least  exalted  sense 
of  eleemosynary  aid,  is  the  great  design  of  the  institution. 

Others,  with  a  still  more  contracted  view,  remembering 
the  pleasant  reunions  at  their  lodge  banquets,  the  tinre- 


302  THE    LOST    WORD. 

served  communications  which  are  thus  encouraged,  and 
the  solemn  obligations  of  mutual  trust  and  confidence 
that  are  continually  inculcated,  believe  that  it  was  intend 
ed  solely  to  promote  the  social  sentiments  and  cement  the 
bonds  of  friendship. 

But,  although  the  modern  lectures  inform  us  that 
Brotherly  Love  and  Relief  are  two  of  "  the  principal 
tenets  of  a  Mason's  profession,"  yet,  from  the  same  au 
thority,  we  learn  that  Truth  is  a  third  and  not  less  im 
portant  one  ;  and  Truth,  too,  not  in  its  old  Anglo-Saxon 
meaning  of  fidelity  to  engagements,*  but  in  that  more 
strictly  philosophical  one  in  which  it  is  opposed  to  intel 
lectual  and  religious  error  or  falsehood. 

But  I  have  shown  that  the  Primitive  Freemasonry  of 
the  ancients  was  instituted  for  the  purpose  of  preserving 
that  truth  which  had  been  originally  communicated  to  the 
patriarchs,  in  all  its  integrity,  and  that  the  Spurious  Ma 
sonry,  or  the  Mysteries,  originated  in  the  earnest  need  of 
the  sages,  and  philosophers,  and  priests,  to  find  again  the 
same  truth  which  had  been  lost  by  the  surrounding  mul 
titudes.  I  have  shown,  also,  that  this  same  truth  contin 
ued  to  be  the  object  of  the  Temple  Masonry,  which  was 
formed  by  a  union  of  the  Primitive,  or  Pure,  and  the 
Spurious  systems.  Lastly,  I  have  endeavored  to  demon 
strate  that  this  truth  related  to  the  nature  of  God  and  the 
human  soul. 

The  search,  then,  after  this  truth,  I  suppose  to  consti 
tute  the  end  and  design  of  Speculative  Masonry.  From 
the  very  commencement  of  his  career,  the  aspirant  is  by 
significant  symbols  and  expressive  instructions  directed  to 

*  Bosworth  (Aug.  Sax.  Diet.}  defines  treotvth  to  signify  "  troth, 
truth,  treaty,  league,  pledge,  covenant." 


THE    LOST    WORD.  303 

the  acquisition  of  this  divine  truth  ;  and  the  whole  lesson, 
if  not  completed  in  its  full  extent,  is  at  least  well  devel 
oped  in  the  myths  and  legends  of  the  Master's  degree. 
God  and  the  soul —  the  unity  of  the  one  and  the  immor 
tality  of  the  other  —  are  the  great  truths,  the  search  for 
which  is  to  constitute  the  constant  occupation  of  every 
Mason,  and  which,  when  found,  are  to  become  the  chief 
corner-stone,  or  the  stone  of  foundation,  of  the  spiritual 
temple  —  "the  house  not  made  with  hands"  —  which  he 
is  engaged  in  erecting. 

Now,  this  idea  of  a  search  after  truth  forms  so  promi 
nent  a  part  of  the  whole  science  of  Freemasonry,  that  I 
conceive  no  better  or  more  comprehensive  answer  could 
be  given  to  the  question,  What  is  Freemasonry?  than  to 
say  that  it  is  a  science  which  is  engaged  in  the  search 
after  divine  truth. 

But  Freemasonry  is  eminently  a  system  of  symbolism, 
and  all  its  instructions  are  conveyed  in  symbols.  It  is, 
therefore,  to  be  supposed  that  so  prominent  and  so  pre 
vailing  an  idea  as  this,  —  one  that  constitutes,  as  I  have 
said,  the  whole  design  of  the  institution,  and  which  may 
appropriately  be  adopted  as  the  very  definition  of  its 
science,  —  could  not  with  any  consistency  be  left  without 
its  particular  symbol. 

The  WORD,  therefore,  I  conceive  to  be  the  symbol  of 
Divine  Truth;  and  all  its  modifications  —  the  loss,  the 
substitution,  and  the  recovery  —  are  but  component  parts 
of  the  mythical  symbol  which  represents  a  search  after 
truth. 

How,  then,  is  this  symbolism  preserved?  How  is  the 
whole  history  of  this  Word  to  be  interpreted,  so  as  to  bear, 
in  all  its  accidents  of  time,  and  place,  and  circumstance, 


304  THE    LOST    WORD. 

a  patent  reference  to  the  substantive  idea  that  has  been 
symbolized? 

The  answers  to  these  questions  embrace  what  is,  per 
haps,  the  most  intricate  as  well  as  most  ingenious  and 
interesting  portion  of  the  science  of  masonic  symbolism. 

This  symbolism  may  be  interpreted,  either  in  an  appli 
cation  to  a  general  or  to  a  special  sense. 

The  general  application  will  embrace  the  whole  history 
of  Freemasonry,  from  its  inception  to  its  consummation. 
The  search  after  the  Word  is  an  epitome  of  the  intellec 
tual  and  religious  progress  of  the  order,  from  the  period 
when,  by  the  dispersion  at  Babel,  the  multitudes  were 
enshrouded  in  the  profundity  of  a  moral  darkness  where 
truth  was  apparently  forever  extinguished.  The  true 
name  of  God  was  lost ;  his  true  nature  was  not  under 
stood  ;  the  divine  lessons  imparted  by  our  father  Noah 
were  no  longer  remembered  ;  the  ancient  traditions  were 
now  corrupted ;  the  ancient  symbols  were  perverted. 
Truth  was  buried  beneath  the  rubbish  of  Sabaism,  and 
the  idolatrous  adoration  of  the  sun  and  stars  had  taken 
the  place  of  the  olden  worship  of  the  true  God.  A  moral 
darkness  was  now  spread  over  the  face  of  the  earth,  as  a 
dense,  impenetrable  cloud,  which  obstructed  the  rays  of 
the  spiritual  sun,  and  covered  the  people  as  with  a  gloomy 
pall  of  intellectual  night. 

But  this  night  was  not  to  last  forever.  A  brighter  dawn 
was  to  arise,  and  amidst  all  this  gloom  and  darkness  there 
were  still  to  be  found  a  few  sages  in  whom  the  religious 
sentiment,  working  in  them  with  powerful  throes,  sent  forth 
manfully  to  seek  after  truth.  There  were,  even  in  those 
days  of  intellectual  and  religious  darkness,  craftsmen  who 
were  willing  to  search  for  the  Lost  Word.  And  though 


THE    LOST    WORD.  305 

they  were  unable  to  find  it,  their  approximation  to  truth 
was  so  near  that  the  result  of  their  search  may  well  be 
symbolized  by  the  Substitute  Word. 

It  was  among  the  idolatrous  multitudes  that  the  Word 
had  been  lost.  It  was  among  them  that  the  Builder  had 
been  smitten,  and  that  the  works  of  the  spiritual  temple 
had  been  suspended  ;  and  so,  losing  at  each  successive 
stage  of  their  decline,  more  and  more  of  the  true  knowl 
edge  of  God  and  of  the  pure  religion  which  had  originally 
been  imparted  by  Noah,  they  finally  arrived  at  gross  ma 
terialism  and  idolatry,  losing  all  sight  of  the  divine  exist 
ence.  Thus  it  was  that  the  truth  —  the  Word  —  was  said 
to  have  been  lost ;  or,  to  ftpply  the  language  of  Hutchin- 
son,  modified  in  its  reference  to  the  time,  "  in  this  situa 
tion,  it  might  well  be  said  that  the  guide  to  heaven  was 
lost,  and  the  master  of  the  works  of  righteousness  was 
smitten.  The  nations  had  given  themselves  up  to  the 
grossest  idolatry,  and  the  service  of  the  true  God  was 
effaced  from  the  memory  of  those  who  had  yielded  them 
selves  to  the  dominion  of  sin." 

And  now  it  was  among  the  philosophers  and  priests  in 
the  ancient  Mysteries,  or  the  spurious  Freemasonry,  that 
an  anxiety  to  discover  the  truth  led  to  the  search  for  the 
Lost  Word.  These  were  the  craftsmen  who  saw  the  fatal 
blow  which  had  been  given,  who  knew  that  the  Word 
was  now  lost,  but  were  willing  to  go  forth,  manfully  and 
patiently,  to  seek  its  restoration.  And  there  were  the 
craftsmen  who,  failing  to  rescue  it  from  the  grave  of 
oblivion  into  which  it  had  fallen,  by  any  efforts  of  their 
own  incomplete  knowledge,  fell  back  upon  the  dim 
traditions  which  had  been  handed  clown  from  primeval 
times,  and  through  their  aid  found  a  substitute  for  truth 
in  their  own  philosophical  religions. 


THE    LOST    WORD. 

And  hence  Schmidtz,  speaking  of  these  Mysteries  of 
the  pagan  world,  calls  them  the  remains  of  the  ancient 
Pelasgian  religion,  and  says  that  "  the  associations  of 
persons  for  the  purpose  of  celebrating  them  must  there 
fore  have  been  formed  at  the  time  when  the  overwhelm 
ing  influence  of  the  Hellenic  religion  began  to  gain  the 
upper  hand  in  Greece,  and  when  persons  who  still  enter 
tained  a  reverence  for  the  worship  of  former  times  united 
together,  with  the  intention  of  preserving  and  upholding 
among  themselves  as  much  as  possible  of  the  religion  of 
their  forefathers." 

Applying,  then,  our  interpretation  in  a  general  sense, 
the  Word  itself  being  the  symbol  of  Divine  Truth,  the 
narrative  of  its  loss  and  the  search  for  its  recovery  be 
comes  a  mythical  symbol  of  the  decay  and  loss  of  the  true 
religion  among  the  ancient  nations,  at  and  after  the  dis 
persion  on  the  plains  of  Shinar,  and  of  the  attempts  of  the 
wise  men,  the  philosophers,  and  priests,  to  find  and  retain 
it  in  their  secret  Mysteries  and  initiations,  which  have 
hence  been  designated  as  the  Spurious  Freemasonry  of 
Antiquity. 

But  I  have  said  that  there  is  a  special,  or  individual, 
as  well  as  a  general  interpretation.  This  compound  or 
double  symbolism,  if  I  may  so  call  it,  is  by  no  means  un 
usual  in  Freemasonry.  I  have  already  exhibited  an  illus 
tration  of  it  in  the  symbolism  of  Solomon's  temple,  where, 
in  a  general  sense,  the  temple  is  viewed  as  a  symbol  of 
that  spiritual  temple  formed  by  the  aggregation  of  the 
whole  order,  and  in  which  each  mason  is  considered  as 
a  stone ;  and,  in  an  individual  or  special  sense,  the  same 
temple  is  considered  as  a  type  of  that  spiritual  temple 
which  each  mason  is  directed  to  erect  in  his  heart. 


THE    LOST    WORD.  307 

Now,  in  this  special  or  individual  interpretation,  the 
Word,  with  its  accompanying  myth  of  a  loss,  a  substitute, 
and  a  recovery,  becomes  a  symbol  of  the  personal  prog 
ress  of  a  candidate  from  his  first  initiation  to  the  comple 
tion  of  his  course,  when  he  receives  a  full  development 
of  the  Mysteries. 

The  aspirant  enters  on  this  search  after  truth,  as  an 
Entered  Apprentice,  in  darkness,  seeking  for  light  —  the 
light  of  wisdom,  the  light  of  truth,  the  light  symbolized 
by  the  Word.  For  this  important  task,  upon  which  he 
starts  forth  gropingly,  falteringly,  doubtingly,  in  want 
and  in  weakness,  he  is  prepared  by  a  purification  of  the 
heart,  and  is  invested  with  a  first  substitute  for  the  true 
Word,  which,  like  the  pillar  that  went  before  the  Israel 
ites  in  the  wilderness,  is  to  guide  him  onwards  in  his 
weary  journey.  He  is  directed  to  take,  as  a  staff  and 
scrip  for  his  journey,  all  those  virtues  which  expand  the 
heart  and  dignify  the  soul.  Secrecy,  obedience,  humility, 
trust  in  God,  purity  of  conscience,  economy  of  time,  are 
all  inculcated  by  impressive  types  and  symbols,  which 
connect  the  first  degree  with  the  period  of  youth. 

And  then,  next  in  the  degree  of  Fellow  Craft,  he  fairly 
enters  upon  his  journey.  Youth  has  now  passed,  and 
manhood  has  come  on.  New  duties  and  increased  obli 
gations  press  upon  the  individual.  The  thinking  and 
working  stage  of  life  is  here  symbolized.  Science  is  to 
be  cultivated  ;  wisdom  is  to  be  acquired  ;  the  lost  Word  — 
divine  truth  —  is  still  to  be  sought  for.  But  even  yet  it 
is  not  to  be  found. 

And  now  the  Master  Mason  comes,  with  all  the  sym 
bolism  around  him  of  old  age  —  trials,  sufferings,  death. 
And  here,  too,  the  aspirant,  pressing  onward,  always 


308  THE    LOST    WORD. 

onward,  still  cries  aloud  for  "  light,  more  light."  The 
search  is  almost  over,  but  the  lesson,  humiliating  to  human 
nature,  is  to  be  taught,  that  in  this  life  —  gloomy  and 
dark,  earthly  and  carnal  —  pure  truth  has  no  abiding 
place  ;  and  contented  with  a  substitute,  and  to  that  second 
temple  of  eternal  life,  for  that  true  Word,  that  divine 
Truth,  which  will  teach  us  all  that  we  shall  ever  learn  of 
God  and  his  emanation,  the  human  soul. 

So,  the  Master  Mason,  receiving  this  substitute  for  the 
lost  Word,  waits  with  patience  for  the  time  when  it  shall 
be  found,  and  perfect  wisdom  shall  be  attained. 

But,  work  as  we  will,  this  symbolic  W'ord  —  this 
knowledge  of  divine  Truth  —  is  never  thoroughly  at 
tained  in  this  life,  or  in  its  symbol,  the  Master  Mason's 
lodge.  The  corruptions  of  mortality,  which  encumber 
and  cloud  the  human  intellect,  hide  it,  as  with  a  thick 
veil,  from  mortal  eyes.  It  is  only,  as  I  have  just  said, 
beyond  the  tomb,  and  when  released  from  the  earthly 
burden  of  life,  that  man  is  capable  of  fully  receiving  and 
appreciating  the  revelation.  Hence,  then,  when  we 
speak  of  the  recovery  of  the  Word,  in  that  higher  degree 
which  is  a  supplement  to  Ancient  Craft  Masonry,  we  inti 
mate  that  that  sublime  portion  of  the  masonic  system  is 
a  symbolic  representation  of  the  state  after  death.  For 
it  is  only  after  the  decay  and  fall  of  this  temple  of  life, 
which,  as  masons,  we  have  been  building,  that  from  its 
ruins,  deep  beneath  its  foundations,  and  in  the  profound 
abyss  of  the  grave,  we  find  that  divine  truth,  in  the  search 
for  which  life  was  spent,  if  not  in  vain,  at  least  without 
success,  and  the  mystic  key  to  which  death  only  could 
supply. 

And  now  we  know  by  this  symbolism  what  is  meant 


THE    LOST    WORD.  309 

by  masonic  labor,  which,  too,  is  itself  but  another  form 
of  the  same  symbol.  The  search  for  the  Word  —  to  find 
divine  Truth  —  this,  and  this  only,  is  a  mason's  work,  and 
the  WORD  is  his  reward. 

Labor,  said  the  old  monks,  is  worship  —  laborare  cst 
orare ;  and  thus  in  our  lodges  do  we  worship,  working 
for  the  Word,  working  for  the  Truth,  ever  looking  forward, 
casting  no  glance  behind,  but  cheerily  hoping  for  the  con 
summation  and  the  reward  of  our  labor  in  the  knowledge 
which  is  promised  to  him  who  plays  no  laggard's  part. 

Goethe,  himself  a  mason  and  a  poet,  knew  and  felt  all 
this  symbolism  of  a  mason's  life  and  work,  when  he  wrote 
that  beautiful  poem,  which  Carlyle  has  thus  thrown  into 
his  own  rough  but  impulsive  language. 

"The  mason's  ways  are 
A  type  of  existence,  — 
And  to  his  persistence 
Is  as  the  days  are 
Of  men  in  this  world. 

"The  future  hides  in  it 
Gladness  and  sorrow; 
We  press  still  thorow, 
Nought  that  abides  in  it 
Daunting  us  —  onward. 

"And  solemn  before  us 
Veiled  the  dark  portal, 
Goal  of  all  mortal ; 
Stars  silent  rest  o'er  us 
Graves  under  us  silent. 

"While  earnest  thou  gazest 
Come  boding  of  terror, 
Comes  phantasm  and  error, 
Perplexing  the  bravest 
With  doubt  and  misgiving. 


3IO  THE    LOST    WORD. 

"  But  heard  are  the  voices, 
Heard  are  the  sages, 
The  worlds  and  the  ages; 
'  Choose  well ;  jour  choice  is 
Brief  and  vet  endless. 

"  '  Here  eyes  do  regard  you, 
In  eternity's  stillness; 
Here  is  all  fullness, 
Ye,  brave  to  reward  you ; 
Work  and  despair  not.'" 


And  now,  in  concluding  this  work,  so  inadequate  to 
the  importance  of  the  subjects  that  have  been  discussed, 
one  deduction,  at  least,  may  be  drawn  from  all  that  has 
been  said. 

In  tracing  the  progress  of  Freemasonry,  and  in  detailing 
its  system  of  symbolism,  it  has  been  found  to  be  so  inti 
mately  connected  with  the  history  of  philosophy,  of 
religion,  and  of  art,  in  all  ages  of  the  world,  that  the 
conviction  at  once  forces  itself  upon  the  mind,  that  no 
mason  can  expect  thoroughly  to  comprehend  its  nature, 
or  to  appreciate  its  character  as  a  science,  unless  he  shall 
devote  himself,  with  some  labor  and  assiduity,  to  this  study 
of  its  system.  That  skill  which  consists  in  repeating, 
with  fluency  and  precision,  the  ordinary  lectures,  in 
complying  with  all  the  ceremonial  requisitions  of  the 
ritual,  or  the  giving,  with  sufficient  accuracy,  the  ap 
pointed  modes  of  recognition,  pertains  only  to  the  very 
rudiments  of  the  masonic  science. 

But  there  is  a  far  nobler  series  of  doctrines  with  which 
Freemasonry  is  connected,  and  which  it  has  been  my 
object,  in  this  work,  to  present  in  some  imperfect  way. 
It  is  these  which  constitute  the  science  and  the  philosophy 


THE    LOST    WORD.  31 1 

of  Freemasonry,  and  it  is  these  alone  which  will  return 
the  student  who  devotes  himself  to  the  task,  a  sevenfold 
reward  for  his  labor 

Freemasonry,  viewed  no  longer,  as  too  long  it  has  been, 
as  a  merely  social  institution,  has  now  assumed  its  original 
and  undoubted  position  as  a  speculative  science.  While 
.the  mere  ritual  is  still  carefully  preserved,  as  the  casket 
should  be  which  contains  so  bright  a  jewel ;  while  its 
charities  are  still  dispensed  as  the  necessary  though  inci 
dental  result  of  all  its  moral  teachings;  while  its  social 
tendencies  are  still  cultivated  as  the  tenacious  cement 
which  is  to  unite  so  fair  a  fabric  in  symmetry  and 
strength,  the  masonic  mind  is  everywhere  beginning  to 
look  and  ask  for  something,  which,  like  the  manna  in 
the  desert,  shall  feed  us,  in  our  pilgrimage,  with  intel 
lectual  food.  The  universal  cry,  throughout  the  masonic 
world,  is  for  light ;  our  lodges  are  henceforth  to  be 
schools  ;  our  labor  is  to  be  study  ;  our  wages  are  to  be 
learning;  the  types  and  symbols,  the  myths  and  allego 
ries,  of  the  institution  are  beginning  to  be  investigated 
with  reference  to  their  ultimate  meaning;  our  history  is 
now  traced  by  zealous  inquiries  as  to  its  connection  with 
antiquity ;  and  Freemasons  now  thoroughly  understand 
that  often  quoted  definition,  that  "Masonry  is  a  science 
of  morality  veiled  in  allegory  and  illustrated  by  symbols." 

Thus  to  learn  Masonry  is  to  know  our  work  and  to  do 
::  well.  What  true  mason  would  shrink  from  the  task? 


SYNOPTICAL   INDEX. 


A 

PAGK 

AB.   The  Hebrew  word  23*,  AB,  signifies  "father,"  and  was  among 
the  Hebrews  a  title  of  honor.     From  it,  by  the  addition  of 
the  possessive  pronoun,  is  compounded  the  word  Abif,  sig 
nifying  "  his  father,"  and  applied  to  the  Temple  Builder.     .     56 
ABIF.     See  Hiram  Abif. 

ABNET.  The  band  or  apron,  made  of  fine  linen,  variously 
wrought,  and  worn  by  the  Jewish  priesthood.  It  seems  to 
have  been  borrowed  directly  from  the  Egyptians,  upon  the 
representations  of  all  of  whose  gods  is  to  be  found  a  simi 
lar  girdle.  Like  the  zennaar,  or  sacred  cord  of  the  Brah 
mins,  and  the  white  shield  of  the  Scandinavians,  it  is  the 

analogue  of  the  masonic  apron. 130 

ACACIA,  SPRIG  OF.  No  symbol  is  more  interesting  to  the  ma 
sonic  student  than  the  sprig  of  acacia.  ....  24:7 

It  is  the  mimosa  nilotica  of  Linnaeus,  the  sJiittah  of  the  He 
brew  writers,  and  grows  abundantly  in  Palestine.  .  .  2~,Q 

It  is  preeminently  the  symbol  of  the  immortality  of  the  soul.  251 

It  was  for  this  reason  planted  by  the  Jews  at  the  head  of  a 
grave 252 

This  symbolism  is  derived  from  its  never-fading  character  as 
an  evergreen.  .........  253 

It  is  also  a  symbol  of  innocence,  and  this  symbolism  is  de 
rived  from  the  double  meaning  of  the  word  ar.uxia,  which  in 
Greek  signifies  the  plant,  and  innocence ;  in  this  point  of 
view  Hutchinson  has  Christianized  the  symbol.  .  .  .  254 


314  .       SYNOPTICAL    INDEX. 

It  is,  lastly,  a  symbol  of  initiation. 256 

This  symbolism  is  derived  from  the  fact  that  it  is  the  sacred 
plant  of  Masonry ;  and  in  all  the  ancient  rites  there  were 
sacred  plants,  which  became  in  each  rite  the  respective  sym 
bol  of  initiation  into  its  Mysteries  ;  hence  the  idea  was  bor 
rowed  by  Freemasonry. 257 

ADONIA.  The  Mysteries  of  Adonis,  principally  celebrated  in 
Phoenicia  and  Syria.  They  lasted  for  two  days,  and  were 
commemorative  of  the  death  and  restoration  of  Adonis. 
The  ceremonies  of  the  first  day  were  funereal  in  their  char 
acter,  and  consisted  in  the  lamentations  of  the  initiates  for 
the  deatli  of  Adonis,  whose  picture  or  image  was  carried  in 
procession.  The  second  day  was  devoted  to  mirth  and  joy 
for  the  return  of  Adonis  to  life.  In  their  spirit  and  their 
mystical  design,  these  Mysteries  bore  a  very  great  resem 
blance  to  the  third  degree  of  Masonry,  and  they  are  quoted 
to  show  the  striking  analogy  between  the  ancient  and  the 
modern  initiations. 42 

ADONIS.  In  mythology,  the  son  of  Cinyras  and  Myrrha,  who 
was  greatly  beloved  by  Venus,  or  Aphrodite.  He  was  slain 
by  a  wild  boar,  and  having  descended  into  the  realm  of 
Pluto,  Persephone  became  enamoured  of  him.  This  led 
to  a  contest  for  him  between  Venus  and  Persephone,  which 
was  finally  settled  by  his  restoration  to  life  upon  the  con 
dition  that  he  should  spend  six  months  upon  earth,  and  six 
months  in  the  inferior  regions.  In  the  mythology  of  the  phi 
losophers,  Adonis  was  a  symbol  of  the  sun;  but  his  death 
by  violence,  and  his  subsequent  restoration  to  life,  make 
him  the  analogue  of  Hiram  Abif  in  the  masonic  system, 
and  identify  the  spirit  of  the  initiation  in  his  Mysteries, 
which  was  to  teach  the  second  life  with  that  of  the  third 
degree  of  Freemasonry.  .......  42 

AHRIMAN,  or  ARIMANES.  In  the  religious  system  of  Zoroaster, 
the  principle  of  evil,  or  darkness,  which  was  perpetually 
opposing  Ormuzd,  the  principle  of  good,  or  light.  See  Zo 
roaster.  .....  154 

ALFADER.      The  father  of  all,  or  the  universal  Father.     The 

principal  deity  of  the   Scandinavian  mythology.          .         .  184 
The  Edda  gives  twelve  names  of  God,  of  which  Alfader  is 
the  first  and  most  ancient,  and  is  the  one  most  generally 
used. 

ALGABIL.  One  of  the  names  of  the  Supremo  Being  among  the 
Cabalists.  It  signifies  "the  Master  Builder,"  and  is  equiv- 


SYNOPTICAL    INDEX.  315 

alent  to  the  masonic  epithet  of  "Grand  Architect  of  the 
Universe." .122 

ALLEGORY.  A  discourse  or  narrative,  in  which  there  is  a  literal 
and  a  figurative  sense,  a  patent  and  a  concealed  meaning; 
the  literal  or  patent  sense  being  intended  by  analogy  or  com 
parison  to  indicate  the  figurative  or  concealed  one.  Its  der 
ivation  from  the  Greek  a/./.og  and  ayoQsiv,  to  say  something 
different,  that  is,  to  say  something  where  the  language  is 
one  thing,  and  the  true  meaning  different,  exactly  expresses 
the  character  of  an  allegory.  It  has  been  said  in  the  text 
that  there  is  no  essential  difference  between  an  allegory  and 
a  symbol.  There  is  not  in  design,  but  there  is  this  in  their 
character  :  An  allegory  may  be  interpreted  without  any  pre 
vious  conventional  agreement,  but  a  symbol  cannot.  Thus 
the  legend  of  the  third  degree  is  an  allegory  evidently  to  be 
interpreted  as  teaching  a  restoration  to  life ;  and  this  we 
learn  from  the  legend  itself,  without  any  previous  under 
standing.  The  sprig  of  acacia  is  a  symbol  of  the  immor 
tality  of  the  soul.  But  this  we  know  only  because  such 
meaning  had  been  conventionally  determined  when  the  sym 
bol  was  first  established.  It  is  evident,  then,  that  an  alle 
gory  which  is  obscure  is  imperfect.  The  enigmatical  mean 
ing  should  be  easy  of  interpretation ;  and  hence  Lemiere,  a 
French  poet,  has  said,  •'  I/allegorie  habite  un  palais  dia- 
phane  "  —  Allegory  lives  in  a  transparent  palace.  All  the 
legends  of  Freemasonry  are  more  or  less  allegorical,  and 
whatever  truth  there  may  be  in  some  of  them  in  an  histor 
ical  point  of  view,  it  is  only  as  allegories,  or  legendary  sym 
bols,  that  they  are  important.  ......  75 

ALL-SEEING  EYE.  A  symbol  of  the  third  degree,  of  great  an 
tiquity.  See  Eye. 

ANCIENT  CRAFT  MASONRY.  The  first  three  degrees  of  Free 
masonry;  viz.,  Entered  Apprentice,  Fellow  Craft,  and 
Master  Mason.  They  are  so  called  because  they  alone  are 
supposed  to  have  been  practised  by  the  ancient  craft.  In 
the  agreement  between  the  two  grand  lodges  of  England  in 
1813,  the  definition  was  made  to  include  the  Royal  Arch  de 
gree.  Now  if  by  the  "  ancient  craft "  are  meant  the  workmen 
at  the  first  temple,  the  definition  will  be  wrong,  because  the 
Royal  Arch  degree  could  have  had  no  existence  until  the 
time  of  the  building  of  the  second  temple.  But  if  by  the 
"ancient  craft"  is  meant  the  I  ody  of  workmen  who  intro 
duced  the  rites  of  Masonry  into  Europe  in  the  early  ages  of 


316  SYNOPTICAL    INDEX. 

the  history  of  the  Order,  then  it  will  be  correct:  because  the 
Royal  Arch  degree  always,  from  its  origin  until  the  middle 
of  the  eighteenth  century,  formed  a  part  of  the  Master's. 
<;  Ancient  Craft  Masonry,"  however,  in  this  country,  is  gen 
erally  understood  to  embrace  only  the  first  three  degrees.  .  124 

ANDERSON.  James  Anderson,  D.  D.,  is  celebrated  as  the  com 
piler  and  editor  of  ''The  Constitutions  of  the  Freemasons," 
published  by  order  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  England,  in  3723. 
A  second  edition  was  published  by  him  in  1738.  Shortly 
after,  Anderson  died,  and  the  subsequent  editions,  of  which 
there  are  several,  have  been  edited  by  other  persons.  The 
edition  of  1723  has  become  exceedingly  rare,  and  copies  of 
it  bring  fancy  prices  among  the  collectors  of  old  masonic 
books.  Its  intrinsic  value  is  derived  only  from  the  fact  that 
it  contains  the  first  printed  copy  of  the  "  Old  Charges," 
and  also  the  "General  Regulations."  The  history  of  Ma 
sonry  which  precedes  these,  and  constitutes  the  body  of  the 
work,  is  fanciful,  unreliable,  and  pretentious  to  a  degree 
that  often  leads  to  absurdity.  The  craft  are  greatly  indebt 
ed  to  Anderson  for  his  labors  in  reorganizing  the  institu 
tion,  but  doubtless  it  would  have  been  better  if  he  had  con 
tented  himself  with  giving  the  records  of  the  Grand  Lodge 
from  1717  to  1738  which  are  contained  in  his  second  edition, 
and  with  preserving  for  us  the  charges  and  regulations,  which 
without  his  industry  might  have  been  lost.  No  masonic 
writer  would  now  venture  to  quote  Anderson  as  authority 
for  the  history  of  the  Order  anterior  to  the  eighteenth  cen 
tury.  It  must  also  be  added  that  in  the  republication  of  the 
old  charges  in  the  edition  of  1738,  he  made  several  impor 
tant  alterations  and  interpolations,  which  justly  gave  some 
offence  to  the  Grand  Lodge,  and  which  render  the  second 
edition  of  no  authority  in  this  respect.  ....  228 

ANIMAL,  WORSHIP.  The  worship  of  animals  is  a  species  of  idol 
atry  that  was  especially  practised  by  the  ancient  Egyptians. 
Temples  were  erected  by  this  people  in  their  honor,  in  which 
they  were  fed  and  cared  for  during  life ;  to  kill  one  of  them 
was  a  crime  punishable  with  death ;  and  after  death,  they 
were  embalmed,  and  interred  in  the  catacombs.  This  wor 
ship  was  derived  first  from  the  earlier  adoration  of  the  stars, 
to  certain  constellations  of  which  the  names  of  animals  had 
been  given ;  next,  from  an  Egyptian  tradition  that  the  gods, 
being  pursued  by  Typhon,  had  concealed  themselves  under 
the  forms  of  animals ;  and  lastly,  from  the  doctrine  of  the 


SYNOPTICAL    INDEX.  31  7 

metempsychosis,  according  to  which  there  was  a  continual 
circulation  of  the  souls  of  men  and  animals.  But  behind 
the  open  and  popular  exercise  of  this  degrading  worship  the 
priests  concealed  a  symbolism  full  of  philosophical  concep 
tions.  How  this  symbolism  was  corrupted  and  misinter 
preted  by  the  uninitiated  people,  is  shown  by  Gliddon,  and 
quoted  in  the  text.  .  .78 

APHANISM  (Greek  <<(/>,/»/!>,  to  conceal}.     In  each  of  the  initia 
tions  of  the  ancient  Mysteries,  there  was  a  scenic  repre 
sentation  of  the  death  or  disappearance  of  some  god  or  hero, 
whose  adventures  constituted  the  legend  of  the  Mystery. 
That  part  of  the  ceremony  of  initiation  which  related  to  and 
represented  the  death  or  disappearance  was  called  the  aph- 
anism.  ..........     44; 

Freemasonry,  which  has  in  its  ceremonial  form  been  framed 
after  the  model  of  the:e  ancient  Mysteries,  has  also  its  aph- 
anism  in  the  third  degree.  .......  233 

APORRHETA  (Greek  unontnTa).  The  holy  things  in  the  ancient 
Mysteries  which  were  known  only  to  the  initiates,  and  were 
not  to  be  disclosed  to  the  profane,  were  called  the  aporrheta. 
What  are  the  aporrheta  of  Freemasonry?  what  are  the 
arcana  of  which  there  can  be  no  disclosure  ?  is  a  question 
that  for  some  years  past  has  given  rise  to  much  discussion 
among  the  disciples  of  the  institution.  If  the  sphere  and 
number  of  these  aporrheta  be  very  considerably  extended, 
it  is  evident  that  much  valuable  investigation  by  public  dis 
cussion  of  the  science  of  Masonry  will  be  prohibited.  On 
the  other  hand,  if  the  aporrheta  are  restricted  to  only  a  few 
points,  much  of  the  beauty,  the  permanency,  and  the  effica 
cy  of  Freemasonry,  which  are  dependent  on  its  Organiza 
tion  as  a  secret  and  mystical  association,  will  be  lost.  We 
move  between  Scylla  and  Charybdis,  and  it  is  difficult  for  a 
masonic  writer  to  know  how  to  steer  so  as,  in  avoiding  too 
frank  an  exposition  of  the  principles  of  the  Order,  not  to 
fall  by  too  much  reticence  into  obscurity.  The  European 
Masons  are  far  more  liberal  in  their  views  of  the  obligation 
of  secrecy  than  the  English  or  the  American.  There  are 
few  things,  indeed,  which  a  French  or  German  masonic 
writer  will  refuse  to  discuss  with  the  utmost  frankness.  It 
is  now  beginning  to  be  very  generally  admitted,  and  English 
and  American  writers  are  acting  on  the  admission,  that  the 
only  real  aporrheta  of  Freemasonry  are  the  modes  of  rec 
ognition,  and  the  peculiar  and  distinctive  ceremonies  of  the 


318  SYNOPTICAL    INDEX. 

Order;  and  to  these  last  it  is  claimed  that  reference  may  be 
publicly  made  for  the  purposes  of  scientific  investigation, 
provided  that  the  reference  be  so  made  as  to  be  obscure  to 
the  profane,  and  intelligible  only  to  the  initiated.  .  .  148 

APRON.     The  lambskin,  or  white  leather  apron,  is  the  peculiar 

and  distinctive  badge  of  a  mason.          .....  131 

Its  color  must  be  white,  and  its  material  a  lambskin.        .         .  132 
It  is  a  symbol  of  purity,  and  it  derives  this  symbolism  from  its 
color,  white  being  symbolic  of  purity ;  from  its  material,  the 
lamb  having  the  same  symbolic  character ;  and  from  its  use, 

which  is  to  preserve  the  garments  clean 135 

The  apron,  or  abnet,  worn  by  the  Egyptian  and  the  Hebrew 
priests,  and  which  has  been  considered  as  the  analogue  of 
the  masonic  apron,  is  supposed  to  have  been  a  symbol  of 
authority ;  but  the  use  of  the  apron  in  Freemasonry  origin 
ally  as  an  implement  of  labor,  is  an  evidence  of  the  deriva 
tion  of  the  speculative  science  from  an  operative  art.  .  .  138 

APULEIDS.  Lucius  Apulcius,  a  Latin  writer,  born  at  Medaura, 
in  Africa,  flourished  in  the  reigns  of  the  emperors  Antoni 
nus  and  Marcus  Aurelius.  His  most  celebrated  book,  en 
titled  "  Metamorphoses,  or  the  Golden  Ass,"  was  written, 
Bishop  Warburton  thinks,  for  the  express  purpose  of  rec 
ommending  the  ancient  Mysteries.  He  had  been  initiated 
into  many  of  them,  and  his  descriptions  of  them,  and  espe 
cially  of  his  own  initiation  into  those  of  the  Egyptian  Isis, 
are  highly  interesting  and  instructive,  and  should  be  read 
by  every  student  of  the  science  of  masonic  symbolism.  .  48 

ARCHETYPE.  The  principal  type,  figure,  pattern,  or  example, 
whereby  and  whereon  a  thing  is  formed.  In  the  science  of 
symbolism,  the  archetype  is  the  thing  adopted  as  a  symbol, 
whence  the  symbolic  idea  is  derived.  Thus  WTB  say  the  tem 
ple  is  the  archetype  of  the  lodge,  because  the  former  is  the 
symbol  whence  all  the  temple  symbolism  of  the  latter  is  de 
rived .  .  .  .162 

ARCHITECTURE.  The  art  which  teaches  the  proper  method  of 
constructing  public  and  private  edifices.  It  is  to  Freema 
sonry  the  "  ars  artium,"  the  art  of  arts,  because  to  it  the 
institution  is  indebted  for  its  origin  in  its  present  organiza 
tion.  The  architecture  of  Freemasonry  is  altogether  relat 
ed  to  the  construction  of  public  edifices,  and  principally 
sacred  or  religious  ones,  —  such  as  temples,  cathedrals, 
churches,  —  and  of  these,  masonic-ally,  the  temple  of  Solo 
mon  is  the  archetype.  Much  of  the  symbolism  of  Freema- 


SYNOPTICAL    INDEX.  319 

sonry  is  drawn  from  the  art  of  architecture.  While  the 
improvements  of  Greek  and  Roman  architecture  are  recog 
nized  in  Freemasonry,  the  three  ancient  orders,  the  Doric, 
Ionic,  and  Corinthian  are  alone  symbolized.  No  symholism 
attaches  to  the  Tuscan  and  Composite.  .  .  .;  .  .  222 

ARK  OF  THE  COVENANT.  One  of  the  most  sacred  objects  among 
the  Israelites.  It  was  a  chest  made  of  shittim  wood,  or 
acacia,  richly  decorated,  forty-five  inches  long,  and  eigh 
teen  inches  wide,  and  contained  the  two  tables  of  stone  on 
which  the  ten  commandments  were  engraved,  the  golden 
pot  that  held  manna,  and  Aaron's  rod.  It  was  placed  in  the 
holy  of  holies,  first  of  the  tabernacle,  and  then  of  the  tem 
ple.  Such  is  its  masonic  and  scriptural  history.  The  idea 
of  this  ark  was  evidently  borrowed  from  the  Egyptians,  in 
whose  religious  rites  a  similar  chest  or  coffer  is  to  be  found. 
Herodotus  mentions  several  instances.  Speaking  of  the  fes 
tival  of  Papremis,  he  says  (ii.  63)  that  the  image  of  the  god 
was  kept  in  a  small  wooden  shrine  covered  with  plates  of 
gold,  which  shrine  was  conveyed  in  a  procession  of  the  priests 
and  people  from  the  temple  into  a  second  sacred  building. 
Among  the  sculptures  are  to  be  found  bass  reliefs  of  the  ark 
of  Isis.  The  greatest  of  the  religious  ceremonies  of  the 
Egyptians  was  the  procession  of  the  shrines  mentioned  in 
the  Rosetta  stone,  and  which  is  often  found  depicted  on  the 
sculptures.  These  shrines  were  of  two  kinds,  one  a  can 
opy,  but  the  other,  called  the  great  shrine,  was  an  ark  or 
sacred  boat.  It  was  borne  on  the  shoulders  of  priests  by 
means  of  staves  passing  through  rings  in  its  sides,  and  was 
taken  into  the  temple  and  deposited  on  a  stand.  Some  of 
these  arks  contained,  says  Wilkinson  (Notes  to  Herod.  II.  58, 
n.  9),  the  elements  of  life  and  stability,  and  others  the 
sacred  beetle  of  the  sun,  overshadowed  by  the  wings  of  two 
figures  of  the  goddess  Thmei.  In  all  this  we  see  the  type  of 
the  Jewish  ark.  The  introduction  of  the  ark  into  the  cer 
emonies  of  Freemasonry  evidently  is  in  reference  to  its  loss 
and  recovery;  and  hence  its  symbolism  is  to  be  interpreted 
as  connected  with  the  masonic  idea  of  loss  and  recovery, 
which  always  alludes  to  a  loss  of  life  and  a  recovery  of  im 
mortality.  In  the  first  temple  of  this  life  the  ark  is  lost;  in 
the  second  temple  of  the  future  life  it  is  recovered.  And 
thus  the  ark  of  the  covenant  is  one  of  the  many  masonic 
symbols  of  the  resurrection.  ......  8] 

ARTS  AND  SCIENCES,  LIBERAL.     In  the  seventh  century,  and 


SYNOPTICAL    INDEX. 

for  many  centuries  afterwards,  all  learning  was  limited  to 
and  comprised  in  what  were  called  the  seven  liberal  arts 
and  sciences ;  namely,  grammar,  rhetoric,  logic,  arithmetic, 
geometry,  music,  and  astronomy.  The  epithet  "liberal"  is 
a  fair  translation  of  the  Latin  "  ingenuus,"  which  means 
"free-born;"  thus  Cicero  speaks  of  the  "artes  ingenuae," 
or  the  arts  befitting  a  free-born  man;  and  Ovid  says  in  the 
well-known  lines,  — 

"  Ingenuas  didicissc  fideliter  artes 
Emollit  mores  nee  sinit  esse  feros,"  — 

To  have  studied  carefully  the  liberal  arts  refines  the  man 
ners,  and  prevents  us  from  leijig  Irvtish.  And  Phillips,  in 
his  "  New  World  of  Words  "  (1706).  defines  the  liberal  arts 
and  sciences  to  be  "  such  as  are  fit  for  gentlemen  and  schol 
ars,  as  mechanic  trades  and  handicrafts  for  meaner  peo 
ple."  As  Freemasons  are  required  by  their  landmarks  to 
be  free-born,'  we  see  the  propriety  of  incorporating  the  arts 
of  free-born  men  among  their  symbols.  As  the  system  of 
Masonry  derived  its  present  form  and  organization  from  the 
times  when  the  study  of  these  arts  and  sciences  constituted 
the  labors  of  the  wisest  men,  they  have  very  appropriately 
been  adopted  as  the  symbol  of  the  completion  of  human 
learning. 223 

ASHLAR.  In  builders'  language,  a  stone  taken  from  the  quar 
ries 90 

ASHLAR,  PERFECT.  A  stone  that  has  been  hewed,  squared,  and 
polished,  so  as  to  be  fit  for  use  in  the  building.  Masonical- 
ly,  it  is  a  symbol  of  the  state  of  perfection  attained  by  means 
of  education.  And  as  it  is  the  object  of  Speculative  Ma 
sonry  to  produce  this  state  of  perfection,  it  may  in  that 
point  of  view  be  also  considered  as  a  symbol  of  the  social 
character  of  the  institution  of  Freemasonry.  .  .  .90 

ASHLAR,  ROUGH.  A  stone  in  its  rude  and  natural  state.  Ma- 
sonically,  it  is  a  symbol  of  men's  natural  state  of  ignorance. 
But  if  the  perfect  ashlar  be,  in  reference  to  its  mode  of  prep 
aration,  considered  as  a  symbol  of  the  social  character  of 
Freemasonry,  then  the  rough  ashlar  must  be  considered  as 
a  symbol  of  the  profane  world.  In  this  species  of  symbol 
ism,  the  rough  and  perfect  ashlars  bear  the  same  relation 
to  each  other  as  ignorance  does  to  knowledge,  death  to  life, 
and  light  to  darkness.  The  rough  ashlar  is  the  profane,  the 
perfect  ashlar  is  the  initiate. »y 


SYNOPTICAL    INDEX. 


321 


ASIIMOLE,  ELIAS.  A  celebrated  antiquary  of  England,  who  was 
born  in  1G17.  He  has  written  an  autobiography,  or  rather 
diary  of  his  life,  which  extends  to  within  eight  years  of  his 
death.  Under  the  date  of  October  16,  1G4G,  he  has  made 
the  following  entry  :  "  I  was  made  a  Free-Mason  at  War- 
rington,  in  Lancashire,  with  Col.  Henry  Mainwaring,  of  Car- 
tieham,  in  Cheshire ;  the  names  of  those  that  were  then  at 
the  lodge  :  Mr.  Richard  Penket,  warden ;  Mr.  James  Col 
lier,  Mr.  Eichard  Sankey,  Henry  Littler,  John  Ellam  and 
Hugh  Brewer."  Thirty-six  years  afterwards,  under  date  of 
March  10,  1682,  he  makes  the  following  entry  :  "I  received 
a  summons  to  appear  at  a  lodge  to  be  held  the  next  day  at 
Masons'  Hall,  in  London.  11.  Accordingly  I  went,  and 
about  noon  was  admitted  into  the  fellowship  of  Freemasons 
by  Sir  William  Wilson,  Knight,  Captain  Richard  Borthwick, 
Mr  William  Woodman,  Mr.  William  Grey,  Mr.  Samuel 
Taylour,  and  Mr.  William  Wise.  I  was  the  senior  fellow 
among  them  (it  being  thirty-five  years  since  I  was  admit 
ted)  ;  there  was  present  beside  myself  the  fellows  after 
named :  Mr.  Thomas  Wise,  master  of  the  Masons'  Compa 
ny  this  year;  Mr.  Thomas  Shorthose,  Mr.  Thomas  Shad- 
bolt,  WaidsfTord,  Esq.,  Mr.  Nicholas  Young,  Mr.  John 

Shorthose,  Mr.  William  Hamon,  Mr.  John  Thompson,  and 
Mr.  William  Stanton.  We  all  dined  at  the  Half-Moon  Tav 
ern,  in  Chcapside,  at  a  noble  dinner  prepared  at  the  charge 
of  the  new-accepted  Masons."  The  titles  of  some  of  the 
persons  named  in  these  two  receptions  confirm  what  is 
said  in  the  text,  that  the  operative  was  at  that  time  being 
superseded  by  the  speculative  element.  It  is  deeply  to  be 
regretted  that  Ashmole  did  not  carry  out  his  projected  de 
sign  of  writing  a  history  of  Freemasonry,  for  which  it  is 
said  that  he  had  collected  abundant  materials.  His  History 
of  the  Order  of  the  Garter  shows  what  we  might  have  ex 
pected  from  his  treatment  of  the  masonic  institution.  .  .  66 

ASPIRANT.  One  who  aspires  to  or  seeks  after  the  truth.  The 

title  given  to  the  candidate  in  the  ancient  Mysteries.  .  .  43 

ATHELSTAX.  King  of  England,  who  ascended  the  throne  in  924. 
Anderson  cites  the  old  constitutions  as  saying  that  he  en 
couraged  the  Masons,  and  brought  many  over  from  France 
and  elsewhere.  In  his  reign,  and  in  the  year  926,  the  cele 
brated  General  Assembly  of  the  Craft  was  held  in  the  city  of 
York,  with  Prince  Edward,  the  king's  brother,  for  Grand 
21 


322  SYNOPTICAL    INDEX. 

Master,  when  new  constitutions  were  framed.  From  this 
assembly  the  York  Rite  dates  its  origin.  .  .  .  .64 

AUTOPSY  (Greek  «j>io<//«u,  a  seeing  with  one's  own  eyes").  The 
complete  communication  of  the  secrets  in  the  ancient  Mys 
teries,  when  the  aspirant  was  admitted  into  the  sacellum,  or 
most  sacred  place,  and  was  invested  by  the  Hierophant  with 
all  the  aporrheta,  or  sacred  things,  which  constituted  the 
perfect  knowledge  of  the  initiate.  A  similar  ceremony  in 
Freemasonry  is  called  the  Rite  of  Intrusting.  .  .  .44 

AUM.  The  triliteral  name  of  God  in  the  Brahminical  mysteries, 
and  equivalent  among  the  Hindoos  to  the  tetragrammaton 
of  the  Jews.  In  one  of  the  Puranas,  or  sacred  books  oi 
the  Hindoos,  it  is  said,  "  All  the  rites  ordained  in  the  Vedas, 
the  sacrifices  to  fire,  and  all  other  solemn  purifications,  shall 
pass  away  ;  but  that  which  shall  never  pass  away  is  the  word 
AUM,  for  it  is  the  symbol  of  the  Lord  of  all  things."  .  .  183 

B 

BABEL.  The  biblical  account  of  the  dispersion  of  mankind  in 
consequence  of  the  confusion  of  tongues  at  Babel,  has  been 
incorporated  into  the  history  of  Masonry.  The  text  has 
shown  the  probability  that  the  pure  and  abstract  principles 
of  the  Primitive  Freemasonry  had  been  preserved  by  Noah 
and  his  immediate  descendants  ;  and  also  that,  as  a  conse 
quence  of  the  dispersion,  these  principles  had  been  lost  or 
greatly  corrupted  by  the  Gentiles,  who  were  removed  from 
the  influence  and  teachings  of  the  great  patriarch.  .  .  13 
Now  there  was  in  the  old  rituals  a  formula  in  the  third  de 
gree,  preserved  in  some  places  to  the  present  day,  which 
teaches  that  the  candidate  has  come  from  the  tower  of  Babd, 
where  language  was  confounded  and  Masonry  lost,  and  that 
he  is  travelling  to  the  threshing-floor  of  Oman  the  Jebusite, 
where  language  was  restored  and  Masonry  found.  An  at 
tentive  perusal  of  the  nineteen  propositions  set  forth  in  the 
preliminary  chapter  of  this  work  will  furnish  the  reader 
with  a  key  for  the  interpretation  of  this  formula.  The  prin 
ciples  of  the  Primitive  Freemasonry  of  the  early  priesthood 
were  corrupted  or  lost  at  Babel  by  the  defection  of  a  portion 
of  mankind  from  Xoah,  the  conservator  of  those  principles. 
Long  after,  the  descendants  of  this  people  united  with  those 
of  Noah  at  the  temple  of  Solomon,  whose  site  was  the  thresh 
ing-floor  of  Oman  the  Jebusite,  from  whom  it  had  been 


SYNOPTICAL    INDEX.  323 

bought  by  David ;  and  here  the  lost  principles  were  restored 
by  this  union  of  the  Spurious  Freemasons  of  Tyre  with  the 
Primitive  Freemasons  of  Jerusalem.  And  this  explains  the 

latter  clause  of  the  formula. 28 

BABYLONISH  CAPTIVITY.  When  the  city  and  temple  of  Jerusa 
lem  were  destroyed  by  the  army  of  Nebuchadnezzar,  and 
the  inhabitants  conveyed  as  captives  to  Babylon,  we  have  a 
right  to  suppose,  —  that  is  to  say,  if  there  be  any  truth  in  ma 
sonic  history,  the  deduction  is  legitimate,  —  that  among  these 
captives  were  many  of  the  descendants  of  the  workmen  at 
the  temple.  If  so,  then  they  carried  with  them  into  captiv 
ity  the  principles  of  Masonry  which  they  had  acquired  at 
home,  and  the  city  of  Babylon  became  the  great  seat  of  Spec 
ulative  Masonry  for  many  years.  It  was  during  the  captivity 
that  the  philosopher  Pythagoras,  who  was  travelling  as  a 
seeker  after  knowledge,  visited  Babylon.  With  his  ardent 
thirst  for  wisdom,  he  would  naturally  hold  frequent  inter 
views  with  the  leading  Masons  among  the  Jewish  captives. 
As  he  suffered  himself  to  be  initiated  into  the  Mysteries  of 
Egypt  during  his  visit  to  that  country,  it  is  not  unlikely  that 
he  may  have  sought  a  similar  initiation  into  the  masonic 
Mysteries.  This  would  account  for  the  many  analogies  and 
resemblances  to  Masonry  that  we  find  in  the  moral  teach 
ings,  the  symbols,  and  the  peculiar  organization  of  the 
school  of  Pythagoras  —  resemblances  so  extraordinary  as 
to  have  justified,  or  at  least  excused,  the  rituals  for  calling 
the  sage  of  Sarnos  "  our  ancient  brother."  .  .  .  .54 

BACCHUS.  One  of  the  appellations  of  the  "  many-named"  god 
Dionysus.  The  son  of  Jupiter  and  Semele  was  to  the 
Greeks  Dionysus,  to  the  Romans  Bacchus.  .  .  .46 

BARE  FEET.  A  symbol  of  reverence  when  both  feet  are  uncov 
ered.  Otherwise  the  symbolism  is  modern ;  and  from  the 
ritualistic  explanation  which  is  given  in  the  first  degree,  it 
would  seem  to  require  that  the  single  bare  foot  should  be 
interpreted  as  the  symbol  of  a  covenant.  .  .  .  125 

BLACK.  Pythagoras  called  this  color  the  symbol  of  the  evil 
principle  in  nature.  It  was  equivalent  to  darkness,  which 
is  the  antagonist  of  light.  But  in  masonic  symbolism  the 
interpretation  is  diiferent.  There,  black  is  a  symbol  of 
grief,  and  always  refers  to  the  fate  of  the  temple-builder.  .  154 

BRAHMA.  In  the  mythology  of  the  Hindoos  there  is  a  trimurti, 
or  trinity,  the  Supreme  Being  exhibiting  himself  in  three 
manifestations ;  as,  Brahma  the  Creator,  Vishnu  the  Pre- 


324  SYNOPTICAL    INDEX. 

server,  and  Siva  the  Destroyer,  —  the  united  godhead  being 

a  symbol  of  the  sun 28 

Brahma  was  a  symbol  of  the  rising  sun,  Siva  of  the  sun  at 
meridian,  and  Vishnu  of  the  setting  sun.      ....   108 

BRUCE.  The  introduction  of  Freemasonry  into  Scotland  has 
been  attributed  by  some  writers  to  King  Robert  Bruce,  who 
is  said  to  have  established  in  1314  the  Order  of  Herodom, 
for  the  reception  of  those  Knights  Templars  who  had  taken 
refuge  in  his  dominions  from  the  persecutions  of  the  Pope 
and  the  King  of  France.  Lawrie,  who  is  excellent  author 
ity  for  Scottish  Masonry,  does  not  appear,  however,  to  give 
any  credit  to  the  narrative.  Whatever  Bruce  may  have  done 
for  the  higher  degrees,  there  is  no  doubt  that  Ancient  Craft 
Masonry  was  introduced  into  Scotland  at  an  earlier  period. 
See  Kilwinning.  Yet  the  text  is  right  in  making  Bruce  one 
of  the  patrons  and  encouragers  of  Scottish  Freemasonry.  .  64 

BRYANT.  Jacob  Bryant,  frequently  quoted  in  this  work,  was  a 
distinguished  English  antiquary,  born  in  the  year  1715,  and 
deceased  in  1804.  His  most  celebrated  work  is  "  A  New 
System  of  Ancient  Mythology,"  which  appeared  in  1773-76. 
Although  objectionable  on  account  of  its  too  conjectural 
character,  it  contains  a  fund  of  details  on  the  subject  of  sym 
bolism,  and  may  be  consulted  with  advantage  by  the  ma 
sonic  student. 41 

BUILDER.  The  chief  architect  of  the  temple  of  Solomon  is 
often  called  "the  Builder."  But  the  word  is  also  applied 
generally  to  the  craft;  for  every  Speculative  Mason  is  as 
much  a  builder  as  was  his  operative  predecessor.  An  Amer 
ican  writer  (F.  S.  Wood,  of  Arkansas)  thus  alludes  to  this 
symbolic  idea.  "  Masons  are  called  moral  builders.  In 
their  rituals,  they  declare  that  a  more  noble  and  glorious 
purpose  than  squaring  stones  and  hewing  timbers  is  theirs, 
fitting  immortal  nature  for  that  spiritual  building  not  made 
with  hands,  eternal  in  the  heavens."  And  he  adds,  "The 
builder  builds  for  a  century  ;  masons  for  eternity."  In  this 
sense,  "  the  builder"  is  the  noblest  title  that  can  be  bestowed 
upon  a  mason.  .........  52 

BUNYAN,  JOHN.  Familiar  to  every  one  as  the  author  of  the 
"Pilgrim's  Progress."  He  lived  in  the  seventeenth  centu 
ry,  and  was  the  most  celebrated  allegorical  writer  of  Eng 
land.  His  work  entitled  "  Solomon's  Temple  Spiritual 
ized"  will  supply  the  student  of  masonic  symbolism  with 
many  valuable  suggestions 87 


SYNOPTICAL    INDEX.  325 

c 

CABALA.  The  mystical  philosophy  of  the  Jews.  The  word 
which  is  derived  from  a  Hebrew  root,  signifying  to  receive, 
has  sometimes  been  used  in  an  enlarged  sense,  as  compre 
hending  all  the  explanations,  maxims,  and  ceremonies  which 
have  been  traditionally  handed  down  to  the  Jews ;  but  in 
that  more  limited  acceptation,  in  which  it  is  intimately  con 
nected  with  the  symbolic  science  of  Freemasonry,  the  cab 
ala  may  be  defined  to  be  a  system  of  philosophy  which  em 
braces  certain  mystical  interpretations  of  Scripture,  and 
metaphysical  speculations  concerning  the  Deity,  man,  and 
spiritual  beings.  In  these  interpretations  and  speculations, 
according  to  the  Jewish  doctors,  were  enveloped  the  most 
profound  truths  of  religion,  which,  to  be  comprehended  by 
finite  beings,  are  obliged  to  be  revealed  through  the  medi 
um  of  symbols  and  allegories.  Buxtorf  (Lex.  Talm.)  de 
fines  the  Cabala  to  be  a  secret  science,  which  treats  in  a 
mystical  and  enigmatical  manner  of  things  divine,  angelical, 
theological,  celestial,  and  metaphysical,  the  subjects  being 
enveloped  in  striking  symbols  and  secret  modes  of  teaching.  154 

CABALIST.  A  Jewish  philosopher.  One  who  understands  and 
teaches  the  doctrines  of  the  Cabala,  or  the  Jewish  philoso- 
•  phy 154 

CABIRI.  Certain  gods,  whose  worship  was  first  established  in 
the  Island  of  Samothrace,  where  the  Cabiric  Mysteries  were 
practised  until  the  beginning  of  the  Christian  era.  They 
were  four  in  number,  and  by  some  are  supposed  to  have 
referred  to  Noah  and  his  three  sons.  In  the  Mysteries  there 
was  a  legend  of  the  death  and  restoration  to  life  of  Atys, 
the  son  of  Cybele.  The  candidate  represented  Cadmillus, 
the  youngest  of  the  Cabiri,  who  was  slain  by  his  three  breth 
ren.  The  legend  of  the  Cabiric  Mysteries,  as  far  as  it  can 
be  understood  from  the  faint  allusions  of  ancient  authors, 
was  in  spirit  and  design  very  analogous  to  that  of  the  third 
degree  of  Masonry.  ........  256 

CADMILLUS.  One  of  the  gods  of  the  Cabiri,  who  was  slain  by 
his  brothers,  on  which  circumstance  the  legend  of  the  Ca 
biric  or  Samothracian  Mysteries  is  founded.  He  is  the  ana 
logue  of  the  Builder  in  the  Hiramic  legend  of  Freemasonry.  256 

CAIRNS.  Heaps  of  stones  of  a  conical  form,  erected  by  the  Dru 
ids.  Some  suppose  them  to  have  been  sepulchral  monu 
ments,  others  altars.  They  were  undoubtedly  of  a  religious 


326  SYNOPTICAL    INDEX. 

character,  since  sacrificial  fires  were  lighted  upon  them,  and 
processions  were  made  around  them.  These  processions 
were  analogous  to  the  circumambulations  in  Masonry,  and 
were  conducted  like  them  with  reference  to  the  apparent 
course  of  the  sun.  . 145 

CASSIA.  A  gross  corruption  of  Acacia.  The  cassia  is  an  aro 
matic  plant,  but  it  has  no  mystical  or  symbolic  character.  .  248 

CELTIC  MYSTERIES.     The  religious  rites  of  ancient  Gaul  and 

Britain,  more  familiarly  known  as  Druidism,  which  see.    .  109 

CEREMONIES.  The  outer  garments  which  cover  and  adorn  Free 
masonry  as  clothing  does  the  human  body.  .  .  .  10 
Although  ceremonies  give  neither  life  nor  truth  to  doctrines 
or  principles,  yet  they  have  an  admirable  influence,  since  by 
their  use  certain  things  are  made  to  acquire  a  sacred  char 
acter  which  they  would  not  otherwise  have  had ;  and  hence 
Lord  Coke  has  most  wisely  said  that  "  prudent  antiquity  did, 
for  more  solemnity  and  better  memory  and  observation  of 
that  which  is  to  be  done,  express  substances  under  ceremo 
nies."  .  .  .........  171 

CERES.  Among  the  Romans  the  goddess  of  agriculture ;  but 
among  the  more  poetic  Greeks  she  became,  as  Demeter,  the 
symbol  of  the  prolific  earth.  See  Demeter.  .  .  .36 

CHARTER  OF  COLOGNE.  A  masonic  document  of  great  celebri 
ty,  but  not  of  unquestioned  authenticity.  It  is  a  declara 
tion  or  affirmation  of  the  design  and  principles  of  Freema 
sonry,  issued  in  the  year  1535,  by  a  convention  of  masons 
who  had  assembled  in  the  city  of  Cologne.  The  original  is 
in  the  Latin  language.  The  assertors  of  the  authenticity  of 
the  document  claim  that  it  was  found  in  the  chest  of  a  lodge 
at  Amsterdam  in  1637,  and  afterwards  regularly  transmit 
ted  from  hand  to  hand  until  the  year  1816,  when  it  was  pre 
sented  to  Prince  Frederick  of  Nassau,  through  whom  it  was 
at  that  time  made  known  to  the  masonic  world.  Others  as 
sert  that  it  is  a  forgery,  which  was  perpetrated  about  the  year 
1816.  Like  the  Leland  manuscript,  it  is  one  of  those  vexed 
questions  of  masonic  literary  history  over  which  so  much 
doubt  has  been  thrown,  that  it  will  probably  never  be  sat 
isfactorily  solved.  For  a  translation  of  the  charter,  and 
copious  explanatory  notes,  by  the  author  of  this  work,  the 
reader  is  referred  to  the  "American  Quarterly  Review  of 
Freemasonry,"  vol.  ii.  p.  52.  ......  64 

CHRISTIANIZATION  OF  FREEMASONRY.  The  interpretation  of  its 
symbols  from  a  Christian  point  of  view.  This  is  an  error 


SYNOPTICAL    INDEX.  327 

into  which  Hutchinson  and  Oliver  in  England,  and  Scott 
and  one  or  two  others  of  less  celebrity  in  this  country,  have 
fallen.     It  is  impossible  to  derive  Freemasonry  from  Chris 
tianity,  because  the  former,  in  point  of  time,  preceded  the 
latter.     In  fact,  the  symbols  of  Freemasonry  are  Solomonic, 
and  its  religion  was  derived  from  the  ancient  priesthood.     .  237 
The  infusion  of  the  Christian  element  was,  however,  a  natural 
result  of  surrounding  circumstances  ;  yet  to  sustain  it  would 
be  fatal  to  the  cosmopolitan  character  of  the  institution.      .  238 
Such  interpretation  is  therefore  modern,  and  does  not  belong 

to  the  ancient  system.    .  •  246 

CIRCULAR  TEMPLES.  These  were  used  in  the  initiations  of  the 
religion  of  Zoroaster.  Like  the  square  temples  of  Masonry, 
and  the  other  Mysteries,  they  were  symbolic  of  the  world, 
and  the  symbol  was  completed  by  making  the  circumference 
of  the  circle  a  representation  of  the  zodiac.  .  .  .  108 
CIRCUMAMBULATION.  The  ceremony  of  perambulating  the  lodge, 
or  going  in  procession  around  the  altar,  which  was  univer 
sally  practised  in  the  ancient  initiations  and  other  religious 
ceremonies,  and  was  always  performed  so  that  the  persons 
moving  should  have  the  altar  on  their  right  hand.  The  rite 
was  symbolic  of  the  apparent  daily  course  of  the  sun  from 
the  east  to  the  west  by  the  way  of  the  south,  and  was  un 
doubtedly  derived  from  the  ancient  sun-worship.  .  .  139 
CIVILIZATION.  Freemasonry  is  a  result  of  civilization,  for  it 
exists  in  no  savage  or  barbarous  state  of  society ;  and  in  re 
turn  it  has  proved,  by  its  social  and  moral  principles,  a  means 
of  extending  and  elevating  the  civilization  which  gave  it 

birth 221 

Freemasonry  is  therefore  a  type  of  civilization,  bearing  the 
same  relation  to  the  profane  world  that  civilization  does  to 
the  savage  state.    .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .  222 

COLLEGES  or  ARTIFICERS.  The  Collegia  Fabrorum,  or  Work 
men's  Colleges,  were  established  in  Rome  by  Numa,  who 
for  this  purpose  distributed  all  the  artisans  of  the  city  into 
companies,  or  colleges,  according  to  their  arts  and  trades. 
They  resembled  the  modern  corporations,  or  guilds,  which 
sprang  up  in  the  middle  ages.  The  rule  established  by  their 
founder,  that  not  less  than  three  could  constitute  a  college,  — 
"tres  faciunt  collegium"  —  has  been  retained  in  the  regu 
lations  of  the  third  degree  of  masonry,  to  a  lodge  of  which 

these  colleges  bore  other  analogies 18 

COLOGNE,  CHARTER  OF.     See  Oharter  of  Cologne. 


328  SYNOPTICAL    INDEX. 

COMMON  GAVEL.     See  Gavel. 

CONSECRATION.  The  appropriating  or  dedicating,  with  certain 
ceremonies,  anything  to  sacred  purposes  or  offices,  by  sepa 
rating  it  from  common  use.  Masonic  lodges,  like  ancient 
temples  and  modern  churches,  have  always  heen  consecrated. 
Hobbes,  in  his  Leviathan  (p.  iv.  c.  44),  gives  the  best  defi 
nition  of  this  ceremony.  "To  consecrate  is  in  Scripture 
to  offer,  give,  or  dedicate,  in  pious  and  decent  language  and 
gesture,  a  man,  or  any  other  thing,  to  God,  by  separating  it 
from  common  use." 172 

CONSECRATION,  ELEMENTS  OF.  Those  things,  the  use  of  which 
in  the  ceremony  as  constituent  and  elementary  parts  of  it, 
are  necessary  to  the  perfecting  and  legalizing  of  the  act  of 
consecration.  In  Freemasonry,  these  elements  of  conse 
cration  are  corn,  wine,  and  oil,  —  which  see.  .  .  .  172 

CORN.  One  of  the  three  elements  of  masonic  consecration,  and 
as  a  symbol  of  plenty  it  is  intended,  under  the  name  of  the 
"  corn  of  nourishment,"  to  remind  us  of  those  temporal 
blessings  of  life,  support,  and  nourishment  which  we  receive 
from  the  Giver  of  all  good.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .173 

CORNER  STONE.  The  most  important  stone  in  the  edifice,  and 
in  its  symbolism  referring  to  an  impressive  ceremony  in  the 

first  degree  of  Masonry 159 

The  ancients  laid  it  with  peculiar  ceremonies,  and  among  the 

Oriental  nations  it  was  the  symbol  of  a  prince,  or  chief.       .   ICO 
It  is  one  of  the  most  impressive  symbols  of  Masonry.     .         .  161 
It  is  a  symbol  of  the  candidate  on  his  initiation.       .         .         .  162 
As  a  symbol  it  is  exclusively  masonic,  and  confined  to  a  tem 
ple  origin. 175 

COVERING  OF  THE  LODGE.  Under  the  technical  name  of  the 
"clouded  canopy  or  starry-decked  heavens,"  it  is  a  symbol 
of  the  future  world,  —  of  the  celestial  lodge  above,  where 
the  G.  A.  O.  T.  U.  forever  presides,  and  which  constitutes 
the  "foreign  country"  which  every  mason  hopes  to  reach.  .  117 

CREUZER.  George  Frederick  Creuzer,  who  was  born  in  Ger 
many  in  1771,  and  was  a  professor  at  the  University  of  Hei 
delberg,  devoted  himself  to  the  study  of  the  ancient  reli 
gions,  and  with  profound  learning,  established  a  peculiar 
system  on  the  subject.  Many  of  his  views  have  been  adopt 
ed  in  the  text  of  the  present  work.  His  theory  was,  that 
the  religion  and  mythology  of  the  ancient  Greeks  were  bor 
rowed  from  a  far  more  ancient  people,  —  a  body  of  priests 
coming  from  the  East,  —  who  received  them  as  a  revelation. 


SYNOPTICAL    INDEX.  329 

The  myths  and  traditions  of  this  ancient  people  were  adopted 
by  Hesiod,  Homer,  and  the  later  poets,  although  not  with 
out  some   misunderstanding  of  them,  and  they  were  final 
ly    preserved   in   the    Mysteries,    and   became    subjects    of 
investigation    for  the  philosophers.      This  theory  Creuzcr 
has  developed  in  his  most  important  work,  entitled  "  Sym- 
bolik  und  Mythologie  der  alten  Volker,  besonders  der  Greich- 
en,"  which  was  published  at  Leipsic  in  1819.     There  is  no 
translation   of  this  work  into  English,  but  Guigniaut  pub 
lished  at  Paris,  in  1824,  a  paraphrastic  translation  of  it,  under 
the  title  of  "  Religions  de  I'Antiquite  considtrees  principale- 
ment  dans    leur  Formes  Symboliques  et   Mythologiques." 
Creuzer's  views  throw  much  light  on  the  symbolic  history 
of  Freemasonry.   .........     37 

CROSS.  No  symbol  was  so  universally  diffused  at  an  early  pe 
riod  as  the  cross.  It  was,  says  Faber  (Cabir.  ii.  390),  a 
symbol  throughout  the  pagan  world  long  previous  to  its  be 
coming  an  object  of  veneration  to  Christians.  In  ancient 
symbology  it  was  a  symbol  of  eternal  life.  M.  de  Mortillet, 
who  in  18G6  published  a  work  entitled  "  Le  Signe  de  la  Croix 
avant  le  Christianisme,"  found  in  the  very  earliest  epochs 
three  principal  symbols  of  universal  occurrences;  viz.,  the 
circle,  the  pyramid,  and  the  cross.  Leslie  (Man's  Origin 
and  Destiny,  p.  312),  quoting  from  him  in  reference  to  the 
ancient  worship  of  the  cross,  says  "It  seems  to  have  been  a 
worship  of  such  a  peculiar  nature  as  to  exclude  the  worship 
of  idols."  This  sacredness  of  the  crucial  symbol  may  be 
one  reason  why  its  form  was  often  adopted,  especially  by 
the  Celts  in  the  construction  of  their  temples,  though  I  have 
admitted  in  the  text  the  commonly  received  opinion  that  in 
cross-shaped  temples  the  four  limbs  of  the  cross  referred  to 
the  four  elements.  But  in  a  very  interesting  work  lately 
published  — "The  Myths  of  the  New  World"  (N.  Y.,  1803) 
—  Mr.  Brinton  assigns  another  symbolism.  "The  symbol," 
says  this  writer,  "that  beyond  all  others  has  fascinated  the 
human  mind,  THE  CROSS,  finds  here  its  source  and  mean 
ing.  Scholars  have  pointed  out  its  'sacredness  in  many  nat 
ural  religions,  and  have  reverently  accepted  it  as  a  mystery, 
or  offered  scores  of  conflicting,  and  often  debasing,  inter 
pretations.  It  is  but  another  symbol  of  the  four  cardinal 
points,  the  four  winds  of  heaven.  This  will  luminously  ap 
pear  by  a  study  of  its  use  and  meaning  in  America."  (p.  95.) 
And  Mr.  Brinton  gives  manv  instances  of  the  religious  use 


33°  SYNOPTICAL    INDEX. 

of  the  cross  by  several  of  the  aboriginal  tribes  of  this  con 
tinent,  where  the  allusion,  it  must  be  confessed,  seems  evi 
dently  to  be  to  the  four  cardinal  points,  or  the  four  winds, 
or  four  spirits,  of  the  earth.  If  this  be  so,  and  if  it  is  prob 
able  that  a  similar  reference  was  adopted  by  the  Celtic  and 
other  ancient  peoples,  then  we  would  have  in  the  cruciform 
temple  as  much  a  symbolism  of  the  world,  of  which  the 
four  cardinal  points  constitute  the  boundaries,  as  we  have 
in  the  square,  the  cubical,  and  the  circular.  .  .  .  107 

CTEIS.  A  representation  of  the  female  generative  organ.  It 
was,  as  a  symbol,  always  accompanied  by  the  phallus,  and, 
like  that  symbol,  was  extensively  venerated  by  the  nations 
of  antiquity.  It  was  a  symbol  of  the  prolific  powers  of  na 
ture.  See  Phallus 113 

CUBE.  A  geometrical  figure,  consisting  of  six  equal  sides  and 
six  equal  angles.  It  is  the  square  solidified,  and  was  among 
the  ancients  a  symbol  of  truth.  The  same  symbolism  is 
recognized  in  Freemasonry.  ......  163 

D 

DARKNESS.     It  denotes  falsehood  and  ignorance,  and  was  a  very 

universal  symbol  among  the  nations  of  antiquity.         .         .  149 
In  all  the  ancient  initiations,  the  aspirant  was  placed  in  dark 
ness  for  a  period  differing  in  each,  —  among  the  Druids  for 
three  days,  among  the  Greeks  for  twenty-seven,  and  in  the 

Mysteries  of  Mithras  for  fifty 155 

In  all  of  these,  as  well  as  in  Freemasonry,  darkness   is  the 
symbol  of  initiation  not  complete.         .....  156 

DEATH.  Because  it  was  believed  to  be  the  entrance  to  a  better 
and  eternal  life,  which  was  the  dogma  of  the  Mysteries, 
deatli  became  the  symbol  of  initiation ;  and  hence  among 
the  Greeks  the  same  word  signified  to  die,  and  to  be  initiat 
ed.  In  the  British  Mysteries,  says  Davies  (Mythol.  of  the 
British  Druids),  the  novitiate  passed  the  river  of  death  in  the 
boat  of  Garanhir,  the  Charon  of  the  Greeks ;  and  before  he 
could  be  admitted  to  this  privilege,  it  was  requisite  that  he 
should  have  been  mystically  buried,  as  well  as  mystically 
dead 157 

DEFINITION  or  FRKEMASONRY.  The  definition  quoted  in  the 
textr  that  it  is  a  science  of  morality,  veiled  in  allegory  and 
illustrated  by  symbols,  is  the  one  which  is  given  in  the  Eng 
lish  lectures. 10 


SYNOPTICAL    INDEX.  331 

But  a  more  comprehensive  and  exact  definition  is,  that  it  is  a 
science  which  is  engaged  in  the  search  after  divine  truth.  .  303 

DELTA.     In  the  higher  degrees  of  Masonry,  the  triangle  is  so 
called  because  the  Greek  letter  of  that  name  is  of  a  triangu 
lar  form.        .         .         .         .         .         .         .        .         .         .  195 

It  is  a  symbol  of  Deity,  because  it  is  the  first  perfect  figure  in 
geometry  ;  it  is  the  first  figure  in  which  space  is  enclosed  by 
lines.  . .196 

DEMETER.  Worshipped  by  the  Greeks  as  the  symbol  of  the  pro 
lific  earth.  She  was  the  Ceres  of  the  Romans.  To  her  is 
attributed  the  institution  of  the  Eleusinian  Mysteries  in 
Greece,  the  most  popular  of  all  the  ancient  initiations.  .  36 

DESIGN  OF  FREEMASONRY.     It  is  not  charity  or  almsgiving.      .  264 
Nor  the  cultivation  of  the  social  sentiment;  for  both  of  these 

are  merely  incidental  to  its  organization 265 

But  it  is  the  search  after  truth,  and  that  truth  is  the  unity  of 
God,  and  the  immortality  of  the  soul.  .....  303 

DIESEAL.  A  term  used  by  the  Druids  to  designate  the  circum- 
ambulation  around  the  sacred  cairns,  and  is  derived  from 
two  words  signifying  "  on  the  right  of  the  sun,"  because  the 
circumambulation  was  always  in  imitation  of  the  course  of 
the  sun,  with  the  right  hand  next  to  the  cairn  or  altar.  .  145 

DIONYSIAC  ARTIFICERS.  An  association  of  architects  who  pos 
sessed  the  exclusive  privilege  of  erecting  temples  and  other 
public  buildings  in  Asia  Minor.  The  members  were  distin 
guished  from  the  uninitiated  inhabitants  by  the  possession 
of  peculiar  marks  of  recognition,  and  by  the  secret  charac 
ter  of  their  association.  They  were  intimately  connected 
with  the  Dionysiac  Mysteries,  and  are  supposed  to  have  fur 
nished  the  builders  for  the  construction  of  the  temple  of 
Solomon.  ..........  45 

DIONYSIAC  MYSTERIES.  In  addition  to  what  is  said  in  the  text, 
I  add  the  following,  slightly  condensed,  from  the  pen  of  that 
accomplished  writer,  Albert  Pike:  "The  initiates  in  these 
Mysteries  had  preserved  the  ritual  and  ceremonies  that  ac 
corded  with  the  simplicity  of  the  earliest  ages,  and  the  man 
ners  of  the  first  men.  The  rules  of  Pythagoras  were  fol 
lowed  there.  Like  the  Egyptians,  who  held  wool  unclean, 
they  buried  no  initiate  in  woollen  garments.  They  abstained 
from  bloody  sacrifices,  and  lived  on  fruits  or  vegetables. 
They  imitated  the  life  of  the  contemplative  sects  of  the  Ori 
ent.  One  of  the  most  precious  advantages  promised  by 
their  initiation  was  to  put  man  in  communion  with  the  gods 


332  SYNOPTICAL    INDEX. 

by  purifying  his  soul  of  all  the  passions  that  interfere  with 
that  enjoyment,  and  dim  the  rays  of  divine  light  that  are  com 
municated  to  every  soul  capable  of  receiving  them.  The 
sacred  gates  of  the  temple,  where  the  ceremonies  of  initia 
tion  were  performed,  were  opened  but  once  in  each  year, 
and  no  stranger  was  allowed  to  enter.  Night  threw  her  veil 
over  these  august  Mysteries.  There  the  sufferings  of  Dio 
nysus  were  represented,  who,  like  Osiris,  died,  descended 
to  hell,  and  rose  to  life  again ;  and  raw  flesh  was  distributed 
to  the  initiates,  which  each  ate  in  memory  of  the  death  of 
the  deity  torn  in  pieces  by  the  Titans."  .  .  .  .45 

DIONYSUS.  Or  Bacchus ;  mythologically  said  to  be  the  son  of 
Zeus  and  Semele.  In  his  Mysteries  he  was  identified  with 
Osiris,  and  regarded  as  the  sun.  His  Mysteries  prevailed 
in  Greece,  Rome,  and  Asia,  and  were  celebrated  by  the  Di- 
onysiac  artificers  —  those  builders  who  united  with  the  Jews 
in  the  construction  of  King  Solomon's  temple.  Hence,  of 
all  the  ancient  Mysteries,  they  are  the  most  interesting  to 
the  masonic  student. 45 

DISSEVERANCE.  The  disseverance  of  the  operative  from  the 
speculative  element  of  Freemasonry  occurred  at  the  begin 
ning  of  the  eighteenth  century.  ......  66 

DISCALCEATION,  RITE  OF.  The  ceremony  of  uncovering  the 
feet,  or  taking  off  the  shoes  ;  from  the  Latin  discalceare.  It 
is  a  symbol  of  reverence.  See  Bare  Feet.  ....  125 

DRUIDICAL  MYSTERIES.  The  Celtic  Mysteries  celebrated  in 
Britain  and  Gaul.  They  resembled,  in  all  material  points, 
the  other  mysteries  of  antiquity,  and  had  the  same  design. 
The  aspirant  was  subjected  to  severe  trials,  underwent  a 
mystical  death  and  burial  in  imitation  of  the  death  of  the 
god  IIu,  and  was  eventually  enlightened  by  the  communi 
cation  to  him  of  the  great  truths  of  God  and  immortality, 
which  it  was  the  object  of  all  the  Mysteries  to  teach.  .  .  155 

DUALISM.  A  mythological  and  philosophical  doctrine,  which 
supposes  the  woi'ld  to  have  been  always  governed  by  two 
antagonistic  principles,  distinguished  as  the  good  and  the 
evil  principle.  This  doctrine  pervaded  all  the  Oriental  re 
ligions,  and  its  influences  are  to  be  seen  in  the  system  of 
Speculative  Masonry,  where  it  is  developed  in  the  symbol 
ism  of  Liurht  and  Darkness.  ......  153 


SYNOPTICAL    INDEX.  333 

E 

EAST.     That  part  of  the  heavens  where  the  sun  rises ;  and  as 
the  source  of  material  light  to  which  we  figuratively  apply 
the  idea  of  intellectual  light,  it  has  been  adopted  as  a  sym 
bol  of  the  Order  of  Freemasonry.     And  this  symbolism  is 
strengthened  by  the  fact  that  the  earliest  learning  and  the 
earliest  religion  came  from  the  east,  and  have  ever  been 
travelling  to  the  west.  ........  1G6 

In  Freemasonry,  the  east  has  always  been  considered  the  most 
sacred  of  the  cardinal  points,  because  it  is  the  place  where 
light  issues  ;  and  it  was  originally  referred  to  the  primitive 
religion,  or  sun-worship.  But  in  Freemasonry  it  refers 
especially  to  that  east  whence  an  ancient  priesthood  first 
disseminated  truth  to  enlighten  the  world ;  wherefore  the 
east  is  masonically  called  "the  place  of  light."  .  .  .  203 

EGG.  The  mundane  egg  is  a  well-recognized  symbol  of  the 
world.  "The  ancient  pagans,"  says  Faber,  "in  almost 
every  part  of  the  globe,  were  wont  to  symbolize  the  world 
by  an  egg.  Hence  this  symbol  is  introduced  into  the  cos 
mogony  of  nearly  all  nations ;  and  there  are  few  persons, 
even  among  those  who  have  not  made  mythology  their  study, 
to  whom  the  Mundane  Egg  is  not  perfectly  familiar.  It  was 
employed  not  only  to  represent  the  earth,  but  also  the  uni 
verse  in  its  largest  extent."  Origin  of  Pag.  Idolatry, 
i.  175 107 

EGG  AND  LUNETTE.  The  egg,  being  a  symbol  not  only  of  the 
resurrection,  but  also  of  the  world  rescued  from  destruc 
tion  by  the  Noachic  ark,  and  the  lunette,  or  horizontal  cres 
cent,  being  a  symbol  of  the  Great  Father,  represented  by 
Noah,  the  egg  and  lunette  combined,  which  was  the  hiero 
glyphic  of  the  god  Lunus,  at  Heliopolis.  was  a  symbol  of 
the  world  proceeding  from  the  Great  Father.  .  .  .  107 

EGYPT.  Egypt  has  been  considered  as  the  cradle  not  only  of  the 
sciences,  but  of  the  religions  of  the  ancient  world.  Al 
though  a  monarchy,  with  a  king  nominally  at  the  head  of 
the  state,  the  government  really  was  in  the  hands  of  the 
priests,  who  were  the  sole  depositaries  of  learning,  and  were 
alone  acquainted  with  the  religious  formularies  that  in  Egypt 
controlled  all  the  public  and  private  actions  of  the  life  of 
every  inhabitant.  .........  78 

ELEPHANTA.  An  island  in  the  Bay  of  Bombay,  celebrated  for 
the  stupendous  caverns  artificially  excavated  out  of  the  solid 


334  SYNOPTICAL    INDEX. 

rock,  which  were  appropriated  to  the  initiations  in  the  an 
cient  Indian  Mysteries.          . 108 

ELEUSINIAN  MYSTERIES.  Of  all  the  Mysteries  of  the  ancients 
these  were  the  most  popular.  They  were  celebrated  at  the 
village  of  Eleusis,  near  Athens,  and  were  dedicated  to  De- 
meter.  In  them  the  loss  and  the  restoration  of  Persephone 
were  scenically  represented,  and  the  doctrines  of  the  unity 
of  God  and  the  immortality  of  the  soul  were  taught.  See 
Demeter 36 

ENTERED  APPRENTICE.     The  first  degree  of  Ancient  Craft  Ma 
sonry,  analogous  to  the  aspirant  in  the  Lesser  Mysteries.     .     93 
It  is  viewed  as  a  symbol  of  childhood,  and  is  considered  as  a 
preparation  and  purification  for  something  higher.        .         .218 

EPOPT.  (From  the  Greek  invnTt'C,  an  eye  witness.')  One  who, 
having  been  initiated  in  the  Greater  Mysteries  of  paganism, 
has  seen  the  aporrheta.  .......  44 

ERA  OF  MASONRY.  The  legendary  statement  that  the  origin  of 
Masonry  is  coeval  with  the  beginning  of  the  world,  is  only 
a  philosophical  myth  to  indicate  the  eternal  nature  of  its 
principles.  ..........  211 

ERICA.  The  tree  heath ;  a  sacred  plant  among  the  Egyptians, 
and  used  in  the  Osirian  Mysteries  as  the  symbol  of  immor 
tality,  and  the  analogue  of  the  masonic  acacia.  .  .  .  258 

ESSENES.  A  society  or  sect  of  the  Jews,  who  combined  labor 
with  religious  exercises,  whose  organization  partook  of  a 
secret  character,  and  who  have  been  claimed  to  be  the  de 
scendants  of  the  builders  of  the  temple  of  Solomon.  .  .  18 

EUCLID.  The  masonic  legend  which  refers  to  Euclid  is  alto 
gether  historically  untrue.  It  is  really  a  philosophical  myth 
intended  to  convey  a  masonic  truth.  .....  208 

EURESIS.  (From  the  Greek  tvntoig,  a  discovery.}  That  part 
of  the  initiation  in  the  ancient  Mysteries  which  represented 
the  finding  of  the  body  of  the  god  or  hero  Mrhose  death  was 

the  subject  of  the  initiation. .44 

The  euresis  has  been  adopted  in  Freemasonry,  and  forms  an 
essential  part  of  the  ritual  of  the  third  degree.  .  .  .  234 

EVERGREEN.     A  symbol  of  the  immortality  of  the  soul.      .         .  251 
Planted  by  the  Hebrews  and  other  ancient  peoples  at  the  heads 

of  graves 252 

For  this  purpose  the  Hebrews  preferred  the  acacia,  because  its 
wood  was  incorruptible,  and  because,  as  the  material  of  the 
ark,  it  was  already  considered  as  a  sacred  plant.  .  .  253 

EYE,  ALL-SEEING.     A  symbol  of  the  omniscient  and  watchful 


SYNOPTICAL    INDEX.  335 

providence  of  God.  It  is  a  very  ancient  symbol,  and  is  sup 
posed  by  some  to  be  a  relic  of  the  primitive  sun-worship. 
Volney  says  (Les  Ruines,  p.  186)  that  in  most  of  the  an 
cient  languages  of  Asia,  the  eye  and  the  sun  are  expressed 
by  the  same  word.  Among  the  Egyptians  the  eye  was  the 
symbol  of  their  supreme  god,  Osiris,  or  the  sun.  .  .  192 


FABER.  The  works  of  the  Rev.  G.  S.  Faber,  on  the  Origin  of 
Pagan  Idolatry,  and  on  the  Cabiri,  are  valuable  contributions 
to  the  science  of  mythology.  They  abound  in  matters  of 
interest  to  the  investigator  of  masonic  symbolism  and  phi 
losophy,  but  should  be  read  with  a  careful  view  of  the  pre 
conceived  theory  of  the  learned  author,  who  refers  every 
thing  in  the  ancient  religions  to  the  influences  of  the 
Noachic  cataclysm,  and  the  arkite  worship  which  he  sup 
poses  to  have  resulted  from  it.  .  .  .  .  .  .  256 

FELLOW  CRAFT.     The  second  degree  of  Ancient  Craft  Masonry, 

analogous  to  the  mystes  in  the  ancient  Mysteries.         .         .     94 
The  symbol  of  a  youth  setting  forth  on  the  journey  of  life.     .  218 

FETICHISM.  The  worship  of  uncouth  and  misshapen  idols, 
practised  only  by  the  most  ignorant  and  debased  peoples, 
and  to  be  found  at  this  day  among  some  of  the  least  civil 
ized  of  the  negro  tribes  of  Africa.  ''Their  fetiches,"  says 
Du  Chaillu,  speaking  of  some  of  the  African  races,  "  con 
sisted  of  fingers  and  tails  of  monkeys  :  of  human  hair,  skin, 
teeth,  bones  ;  of  clay,  old  nails,  copper  chains ;  shells,  feath 
ers,  claws,  and  skulls  of  birds ;  pieces  of  iron,  copper,  or 
wood;  seeds  of  plants,  ashes  of  various  substances,  and  I 
cannot  tell  what  more."  Equatorial  Africa,  p.  93.  .  .  24 

FIFTEEN.  A  sacred  number,  symbolic  of  the  name  of  God,  be 
cause  the  letters  of  the  holy  name  j-j-,  JAII,  are  equal,  in  the 
Hebrew  mode  of  numeration  by  the  letters  of  the  alphabet, 
to  fifteen;  for  h  is  equal  to  ten,  and  ^  is  equal  to  five. 
Hence,  from  veneration  for  this  sacred  name,  the  Hebrews 
do  not,  in  ordinary  computations,  when  they  wish  to  express 
the  number  15,  make  use  of  these  two  letters,  but  of  two 
others,  which  are  equivalent  to  9  and  6.  ....  225 

FORTY-SEVENTH  PROBLEM.  The  forty-seventh  problem  of  the 
first  book  of  Euclid  is,  that  in  any  right-angled  triangle  the 
square  which  is  described  upon  the  side  subtending  the  right 
angle  is  equal  to  the  squares  described  upon  the  sides  which 


SYNOPTICAL    INDEX. 

contain  the  right  angle.  It  is  said  to  have  been  discovered 
by  Pythagoras  while  in  Egypt,  but  was  most  probably  taught 
to  him  by  the  priests  of  that  country,  in  whose  rites  he  had 
been  initiated ;  it  is  a  symbol  of  the  production  of  the  world  ' 
by  the  generative  and  prolific  powers  of  the  Creator;  hence 
the  Egyptians  made  the  perpendicular  and  base  the  repre 
sentatives  of  Osiris  and  Isis,  while  the  hypothenuse  repre 
sented  their  child  Horus.  Dr.  Lardner  says  (Com.  on  .Eu 
clid,  p.  60)  of  this  problem,  ''Whether  we  consider  the 
forty- seventh  proposition  with  reference  to  the  peculiar  and 
beautiful  relation  established  by  it,  or  to  its  innumerable 
uses  in  every  department  of  mathematical  science,  or  to  its 
fertility  in  the  consequences  derivable  from  it,  it  must  cer 
tainly  be  esteemed  the  most  celebrated  and  important  in  the 
whole  of  the  elements,  if  not  in  the  whole  range  of  mathe 
matical  science."  .........  193 

FOURTEEN.  Some  symbologists  have  referred  the  fourteen 
pieces  into  which  the  mutilated  body  of  Osiris  was  divided, 
und  the  fourteen  days  during  which  the  body  of  the  builder 
was  buried,  to  the  fourteen  days  of  the  disappearance  of  the 
moon.  The  Sabian  worshippers  of  "  the  hosts  of  heaven" 
were  impressed  with  the  alternate  appearance  and  disappear 
ance  of  the  moon,  which  at  length  became  a  symbol  of  death 
and  resurrection.  Hence  fourteen  was  a  sacred  number.  As 
such  it  was  viewed  in  the  Osirian  Mysteries,  and  may  have 
been  introduced  into  Freemasonry  with  other  relics  of  the 
old  worship  of  the  sun  and  planets.  .  .  .  .  .40 

FREEMASONRY,  DEFINITION  OF.     See  Definition. 

FREEMASONS,  TRAVELLING.  The  travelling  Freemasons  were  a 
society  existing  in  the  middle  ages,  and  consisting  of  learned 
men  and  prelates,  under  whom  were  operative  masons.  The 
operative  masons  performed  the  labors  of  the  craft,  and 
travelling  from  country  to  country,  were  engaged  in  the  con 
struction  of  cathedrals,  monasteries,  and  castles.  "  There 
are  few  points  in  the  history  of  the  middle  ages,"  says  God 
win,  "more  pleasing  to  look  back  upon  than  the  existence 
of  the  associated  masons ;  they  are  the  bright  spot  in  the 
general  darkness  of  that  period ;  the  patch  of  verdure  when 
all  around  is  barren."  The  Builder,  ix.  463.  ...  62 


SYNOPTICAL    INDEX.  337 


G.  The  use  of  the  letter  G  in  the  Fellow  Craft's  degree  is  an 
anachronism.  It  is  really  a  corruption  of,  or  perhaps  rather 
a  substitution  for,  the  Hebrew  letter  "n  (yod),  which  is  the 
initial  of  the  ineffable  name.  As  such,  it  is  a  symbol  of 
the  life-giving  and  life-sustaining  power  of  God.  .  .  190 

G.  A.  0.  T.  U.  A  masonic  abbreviation  used  as  a  symbol  of 
the  name  of  God,  and  signifying  the  Grand  Architect  of  the 
Universe.  It  was  adopted  by  the  Freemasons  in  accordance 
with  a  similar  practice  among  all  the  nations  of  antiquity  of 
noting  the  Divine  Name  by  a  symbol.  .....  189 

GAVEL.  What  is  called  in  Masonry  a  common  gavel  is  a  stone 
cutter's  hammer  ;  it  is  one  of  the  working  tools  of  an  En 
tered  Apprentice,  and  is  a  symbol  of  the  purification  of  the 
heart  ............  92 

GLOVES.     On  the  continent  of  Europe  they  are  given  to  candi 
dates  at  the  same  time  that  they  are  invested  with  the  apron  ; 
the  same  custom  formerly  prevailed  in   England  ;  but  al- 
tt  ough  the  investiture  of  the  gloves  is  abandoned  as  a  cere 
mony  both  there  and  in  America,,  they  are  worn  as  a  part  of 
masonic  clothing,  ........  137 

They  are  a  symbol  of  purification  of  life  .....   138 

In  the  middle  ages  gloves  were  worn  by  operative  masons.      .  139 

GOD,  UNITY  OF.     See  Unity  of  God. 

GOD,  NAME  OF.     See  Name. 

GOLGOTHA.  In  Hebrew  and  Syriac  it  means  A  skull;  a  name  of 
Mount  Calvary,  and  so  called,  probably,  because  it  was  the 
place  of  public  execution.  The  Latin  Calvaria,  whence 
Mount  Calvary,  means  also  a  skull.  .....  242 

GRAVE.     In  the  Master's  degree,  a  symbol  which  is  the  analogue 

of  the  pastos,  or  couch,  in  the  ancient  Mysteries.         .         .  239 
The  symbolism  has  been  Christianized  by  some  masonic  wri 
ters,  and  the  grave  has  thus  been  referred  to  the  sepulchre 
of  Christ  ...........  240 

GRIPS  AND  SIGNS.     They  are  valuable  only  for  social  purposes 

as  modes  of  recognition  ........  213 

H 

HAND.  The  hand  is  a  symbol  of  human  actions  ;  pure  hands 
symbolize  pure  actions,  and  impure  or  unclean  hands  sym 
bolize  impure  actions.  ........  139 

22 


338  SYNOPTICAL    INDEX. 

HARE.  Among  the  Egyptians  the  hare  was  a  hieroglyphic  of 
eyes  that  are  open,  and  was  the  symbol  of  initiation  into  the 
Mysteries  of  Osiris.  The  Hebrew  word  for  hare  is  arnabet, 
and  this  is  compounded  of  two  words  that  signify  to  behold 
the  light.  The  connection  of  ideas  is  apparent.  .  .  .  15C 

HELLENISM.  The  religion  of  the  Helles,  or  ancient  Greeks  who 
immediately  succeeded  the  Pelasgians  in  the  settlement  of 
that  country.  It  was,  in  consequence  of  the  introduction  of 
the  poetic  element,  more  refined  than  the  old  Pelasgic  wor 
ship  for  which  it  was  substituted.  Its  myths  were  more  phil 
osophical  and  less  gross  than  those  of  the  religion  to  which 
it  succeeded.  .........  47 

HERM^;.  Stones  of  a  cubical  form,  which  were  originally  un 
hewn,  by  which  the  Greeks  at  first  represented  all  their  dei 
ties.  They  came  in  the  progress  of  time  to  be  especially 
dedicated  by  the  Greeks  to  the  god  Hermes,  whence  the 
name,  and  by  the  Romans  to  the  god  Terminus,  who  pre 
sided  over  landmarks.  ........  164 

HERO  WORSHIP.  The  worship  of  men  deified  after  death.  It 
is  a  theory  of  some,  both  ancient  and  modern  writers,  that 
all  the  pagan  gods  were  once  human  beings,  and  that  the 
legends  and  traditions  of  mythology  are  mere  embellish 
ments  of  the  acts  of  these  personages  when  alive.  It  was 
the  doctrine  taught  by  Euhemcrus  among  the  ancients,  and 
has  been  maintained  among  the  moderns  by  such  distin 
guished  authorities  as  Bochart,  Bryant,  Voss,  and  Banier. 

HERMETIC  PHILOSOPHY.  The  system  of  the  Alchemists,  the 
Adepts,  or  seekers  of  the  philosopher's  stone.  No  system 
has  been  more  misunderstood  than  this.  It  was  secret,  eso 
teric,  and  highly  symbolical.  No  one  has  so  well  revealed 
its  true  design  as  E.  A.  Hitchcock,  who,  in  his  delightful 
work  entitled  "  Remarks  upon  Alchemy  and  the  Alche 
mists,"  says,  "  The  genuine  Alchemists  were  religious  men, 
who  passed  their  time  in  legitimate  pursuits,  earning  an 
honest  subsistence,  and  in  religious  contemplation,  study 
ing  how  to  realize  in  themselves  the  union  of  the  divine  and 
human  nature,  expressed  in  man  by  an  enlightened  submis 
sion  to  God's  will ;  and  they  thought  out  and  published,  after 
a  manner  of  their  own,  a  method  of  attaining  or  entering 
upon  this  state,  as  the  only  rest  of  the  soul."  There  is  a 
very  great  similarity  between  their  doctrines  and  those  of 
the  Freemasons ;  so  much  so  that  the  two  associations  have 
sometimes  been  confounded. 273 


SYNOPTICAL    INDEX.  339 

HIEROPHANT.  (From  the  Greek  TFOOC,  holy,  sacred,  and  <fu/vo>, 
to  show.)  One  who  instructs  in  sacred  tilings  ;  the  explain 
er  of  the  aporrheta,  or  secret  doctrines,  to  the  initiates  in 
the  ancient  Mysteries.  He  was  the  presiding  officer,  and  his 
rank  and  duties  were  analogous  to  those  of  the  master  of  a 
masonic  lodge. 

HIRAM  ABIF.  The  architect  of  Solomon's  temple.  The  word 
"  Abif"  signifies  in  Hebrew  "his  father,"  and  is  used  by  the 
writer  of  Second  Chronicles  (iv.  16)  when  he  says,  "These 
things  did  Hiram  his  father  [in  the  original  Hiram  Abif~\ 

do  for  King  Solomon." 56 

The  legend  relating  to  him  is  of  no  value  as  a  mere  narrative, 
but  of  vast  importance  in  a  ?y:nbolieal  point  of  view,  as 
illustrating  a  great  philosophical  and  religious  truth;  name 
ly,  the  dogma  of  the  immortality  of  the  soul.  .  .  .  207 
Hence,  Hiram  Abif  is  the  symbol  of  man  in  the  abstract  sense, 
or  human  nature,  as  developed  in  the  life  here  and  in  the 
life  to  conic 231 

HIRAM  OF  TYRE.  The  king  of  Tyre,  the  friend  and  ally  of 
King  Solomon,  whom  he  supplied  with  men  and'  materials 
for  building  the  temple.  In  the  recent,  or  what  I  am  in 
clined  to  call  the  grand  lecturer's  symbolism  of  Masonry  (a 
sort  of  symbolism  for  which  I  have  very  little  veneration), 
Hiram  of  Tyre  is  styled  the  symbol  of  strength,  as  Hiram 
Abif  is  of  beauty.  But  I  doubt  the  antiquity  or  authentici 
ty  of  any  such  symbolism.  Hiram  of  Tyre  can  only  be 
considered,  historically,  as  being  necessary  to  complete  the 
myth  and  symbolism  of  Hiram  Abif.  The  king  of  Tyre  is 
an  historical  personage,  and  there  is  no  necessity  for  trans 
forming  him  into  a  symbol,  while  his  historical  character 
lends  credit  and  validity  to  the  philosophical  myth  of  the 
third  degree  of  Masonry.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .51 

HIRAM  THE  BUILDER.     An  epithet  of  Hiram  Abif.     For  the  full 

significance  of  the  term,  see  the  word  Builder,    .         .         .55 

HO-I-II.  A  cabalistic  pronunciation  of  the  tctragrammaton.  or 
ineffable  name  of  God ;  it  is  most  probably  the  true  one ; 
and  as  it  literally  means  HE-SHE,  it  is  supposed  to  denote  the 
hermaphroditic  essence  of  Jehovah,  as  containing  within 
himself  the  male  and  the  female  principle,  —  the  generative 
and  the  prolific  energy  of  creation.  .....  187 

He.  The  sacred  name  of  God  among  the  Druids.  Bryant  sup 
poses  that  by  it  they  intended  the  Great  Father  Noah;  but 
it  is  very  possible  that  it  was  a  modification  of  the  Hebrew 


34-O  SYNOPTICAL    INDEX. 

tetragrammaton,  being  the  last  syllable  read  cabalistically 
(see  ho-hi)  ;  if  so,  it  signified  the  great  male  principle  of 
nature.  But  Hu,  in  Hebrew  j^-,  is  claimed  by  Talmudic 
writers  to  be  one  of  the  names  of  God ;  and  the  passage  in 
Isaiah  xlii.  8,  in  the  original  ani  Jehovah,  Hu  shemi,  which 
is  in  the  common  version  "I  am  the  LORD;  that  is  my 
name,"  they  interpret,  "I  am  Jehovah;  my  name  is  He."  185 
HUTCHINSON,  WILLIAM.  A  distinguished  masonic  writer  of  Eng 
land,  who  lived  in  the  eighteenth  century.  He  is  the  author 
of  "  The  Spirit  of  Masonry,"  published  in  1775.  This  was 
the  first  English  work  of  any  importance  that  sought  to  give 
a  scientific  interpretation  of  the  symbols  of  Freemasonry ; 
it  is,  in  fact,  the  earliest  attempt  of  any  kind  to  treat  Free 
masonry  as  a  science  of  symbolism.  Hutchinson,  however, 
has  to  some  extent  impaired  the  value  of  his  labors  by  con 
tending  that  the  institution  is  exclusively  Christian  in  its 
character  and  design. 235 


I 

IH-HO.     See  Ho-hi. 

IMMORTALITY  or  TEE  SOUL.     This  is  one  of  the  two  religious 
dogmas  which  have  always  been  taught  in  Speculative  Ma 
sonry.   ...........     22 

It  was  also  taught  in  all  the  Rites  and  Mysteries  of  antiquity.  229 
The  doctrine  was  taught  as  an  abstract  proposition  by  the  an 
cient  priesthood  of  the  Pure  or  Primitive  Freemasonry  of 
antiquity,  but  was  conveyed  to  the  mind  of  the  initiate,  and 
impressed  upon  him  by  a  scenic  representation  in  the  an 
cient  Mysteries,  or  the  Spurious  Freemasonry  of  the  ancients.  230 

INCOMMUNICABLE  NAME.  The  tetragrammaton,  so  called  be 
cause  it  was  not  common  to,  and  could  not  be  bestowed  upon, 
nor  shared  by,  any  other  being.  It  was  proper  to  the  true 
God  alone.  Thus  Drusius  (Tetragrammaton,  sive  de  No 
mine  Dei  proprio,  p.  108)  says,  "  Nomen  quatuor  literarum 
proprie  et  absolute  non  tribui  nisi  Deo  vero.  Undo  doctores 
catholici  dicunt  incommunicdbile  [not  common]  esse  crea- 
turae." 175 

INEFFABLE  NAME.     The  tetragrammaton.     So  called  because  it 

is  ineffabile,  or  unpronounceable.     See   Tetragrammaton.  175 

INTRUSTING,  RITE  OF.  That  part  of  the  ceremony  of  initiation 
which  consists  in  communicating  to  the  aspirant  or  candi 
date  the  aporrheta,  or  secrets  of  the  mystery.  .  .  .  147 


SYNOPTICAL    INDEX.  34! 

INUNCTION.  The  act  of  anointing.  This  was  a  religious  cere 
mony  practised  from  the  earliest  times.  By  the  pouring  on 
of  oil,  persons  and  things  were  consecrated  to  sacred  pur 
poses.  ...........  174 

INVESTITURE,  RITE  OF.  That  part  of  the  ceremony  of  initiation 
whicli  consists  of  clothing  the  candidate  masonically.  It  is 
a  symbol  of  purity.  .  130 

ISH  CHOTZEB.  Hebrew  ^!2n  E^^'  hewers  of  stones.  The  Fel 
low  Crafts  at  the  temple  of  Solomon.  (2  Chron.  ii.  2.)  .  91 

ISH  SABAL.  Hebrew  ^o  tlP2$>  bearers  of  burdens.  The  Ap 
prentices  at  the  temple  of  Solomon.  (2  Chron.  ii.  2.)  .  91 


JAH.  It  is  in  Hebrew  j-p>  whence  Maimonides  calls  it  "  the  two- 
lettered  name,"  and  derives  it  from  the  tetragrammaton,  of 
which  it  is  an  abbreviation.  Others  have  denied  this,  and 
assert  that  Jah  is  a  name  independent  of  Jehovah,  but  ex 
pressing  the  same  idea  of  the  divine  essence.  See  Gataker, 
De  Norn.  Tetrag -  .  .176 

JEHOVAH.  The  incommunicable,  ineffable  name  of  God,  in  He 
brew  rnrP»  an(l  called,  from  the  four  letters  of  which  it  con 
sists,  the  tetragrammaton,  or  four-lettered  name.  .  .  177 


;BOR.  Since  the  article  on  the  Symbolism  of  Labor  was  writ- 
tt  n,  I  have  met  with  an  address  delivered  in  1868  by  brother 
Troue,  before  St.  Peter's  Lodge  in  Martinico,  which  con 
tains  sentiments  on  the  relation  of  Masonry  to  labor  which 
are  well  worth  a  translation  from  the  original  French.  See 
Bulletin  du  Grand  Orient  de  France,  December,  18G8. 

"Our  name  of  Mason,  and  our  emblems,  distinctly  announce 
that  our  object  is  the  elevation  of  labor. 

"We  do  not,  as  masons,  consider  labor  as  a  punishment  in 
flicted  on  man ;  but  on  the  contrary,  we  elevate  it  in  our 
thought  to  the  height  of  a  religious  act,  which  is  the  most 
acceptable  to  God  because  it  is  the  most  usefnl  to  man  and 
to  society. 

"We  decorate  ourselves  with  the  emblems  of  labor  to  affirm 
that  our  doctrine  is  an  incessant  protest  against  the  stigma 
branded  on  the  law  of  labor,  and  which  an  error  of  appre 
hension,  proceeding  from  the  ignorance  of  men  in  primitive 


342  SYNOPTICAL    INDEX. 

times  has  erected  into  a  dogma ;  an  error  that  has  resulted 
in  the  production  of  this  anti-social  phenomenon  which  we 
meet  with  every  day ;  namely,  that  the  degradation  of  the 
workman  is  the  greater  as  his  labor  is  more  severe,  and  the 
elevation  of  the  idler  is  higher  as  his  idleness  is  more  com 
plete.  But  the  study  of  the  laws  which  maintain  order  in 
nature,  released  from  the  fetters  of  preconceived  ideas,  has 
led  the  Freemasons  to  that  doctrine,  far  more  moral  than 
the  contrary  belief,  that  labor  is  not  an  expiation,  but  a  law 
of  harmony,  from  the  subjection  to  which  man  cannot  be 
released  without  impairing  his  own  happiness,  and  deran 
ging  the  order  of  creation.  The  design  of  Freemasons  is, 
then,  the  rehabilitation  of  labor,  which  is  indicated  by  the 
apron  which  we  wear,  and  the  gavel,  the  trowel,  and  the 
level,  which  are  found  among  our  symbols." 
Hence  the  doctrine  of  this  work  is,  that  Freemasonry  teaches 

not  only  the  necessity,  but  the  nobility,  of  larbor.          .         .  263 
And  that  labor  is  the  proper  worship  due  by  man  to  Godi         .  265 

LADDER.  A  symbol  of  progressive  advancement  from  a  lower 
to  a  higher  sphere,  which  is  common  to  Masonry,  and  to 
many,  if  not  all,  of  the  ancient  Mysteries.  .  .  .  .18 

LADDER,  BRAHMINICAL.  The  symbolic  ladder  used  in  the  Mys 
teries  of  Brahma.  It  had  seven  steps,  symbolic  of  the 
seven  worlds  of  the  Indian  universe.  .....  118 

LADDER,  MITIIRAITIC.  The  symbolic  ladder  used  in  the  Persian 
Mysteries  of  Mithras.  It  had  seven  steps,  symbolic  of  the 
seven  planets  and  the  seven  metals.  .  .  .  .  .116 

LADDER,  SCANDINAVIAN.  The  symbolic  ladder  used  in  the 
Gothic  Mysteries.  Dr.  Oliver  refers  it  to  the  Yggrasil,  or 
sacred  ash  tree.  But  the  symbolism  is  either  very  abstruse 
or  very  doubtful 119 

LADDER,  THEOLOGICAL.  The  symbolic  ladder  of  the  masonic 
Mysteries.  It  refers  to  the  ladder  seen  by  Jacob  in  his  vis 
ion,  and  consists,  like  all  symbolical  ladders,  of  seven 
rounds,  alluding  to  the  four  cardinal  and  the  three  theologi 
cal  virtues .118 

LAMB.     A  symbol  of  innocence.     A  very  ancient  symbol.  .         .  134 

LAMB,  PASCHAL.     See  Paschal  Lamb. 

LAMBSKIN  APRON.     See  Apron. 

LAW,  ORAL.     See  Oral  Law. 

LEGEND.  A  narrative,  whether  true  or  false,  that  has  been  tra 
ditionally  preserved  from  the  time  of  its  first  oral  communi 
cation.  Such  is  the  definition  of  a  masonic  legend.  The 


SYNOPTICAL    INDEX.  343 

authors  of  the  Conversations-Lexicon,  referring  to  the  monk 
ish  Lives  of  the  Saints  which  originated   in  the  twelfth  and 
thirteenth  centuries,  say  that  the  title  legend  was  given  to 
all   fictions  which  make  pretensions  to  truth.     Such  a  re 
mark,  however  correct  it  may  he  in  reference  to  these  monk 
ish  narratives,  which  were  often  invented  as  ecclesiastical 
exercises,  is  by  no  means  applicable  to  the  legends  of  Free 
masonry.     These  are  not  necessarily  fictitious,  but  are  either 
based  on  actual  and  historical  facts  which  have  been  but 
slightly  modified,  or  they  are  the  offspring  and  expansion  of 
some   symbolic  idea,   in  which    latter    respect    they  differ 
entirely  from  the  monastic  legends,  which  often  have  only 
the  fertile  imagination  of  some  studious  monk  for  the  basis 
of  their  construction.    ........  198 

LEGEND  OF  THE  ROYAL  ARCH  DEGREE.     Much  of  this  legend 
is  a  mythical  history  ;  hut  some  portion  of  it  is  undoubtedly 
a  philosophical  myth.     The  destruction  and  the  ree'difica- 
tion  of  the  temple,  the  captivity  and  the  return  of  the  cap 
tives,  are  matters  of  history ;  but  many  of  the  details  have 
been  invented  and  introduced  for  the  purpose  of  giving  form 
to  a  symbolic  idea.         ........  212 

LEGEND  OF  THE  THIRD  DEGREE.  In  all  probability  this  legend 
is  a  mythical  history,  in  which  truth  is  very  largely  and  pre- 
ponderatingly  mixed  with  fiction.  .....  212 

It  is  the  most  important  and  significant  of  the  legendary  sym 
bols  of  Freemasonry.  ........  228 

Has  descended  from  age  to  age  by  oral  tradition,  and  has  been 
preserved  in  every  masonic  rite.  ......  229 

No  essential  alteration  of  it  has  ever  been  made  in  any  ma 
sonic  system,  but  the  interpretations  of  it  have  been  various ; 
the  most  general  one  is,  that  it  is  a  symbol  of  the  resurrec 
tion  and  the  immortality  of  the  soul.  .....  234 

Some  continental  writers  have  supposed  that  it  was  a  symbol 
of  the  downfall  of  the  Order  of  Templars,  and  its  hoped-for 
restoration.  In  some  of  the  high  philosophical  degrees  it  is 
supposed  to  be  a  symbol  of  the  sufferings,  death,  and  resur 
rection  of  Christ.  Hutchinson  thought  it  a  symbol  of  the 
decadence  of  the  Jewish  religion,  and  the  rise  of  the  Chris 
tian  on  its  ruins.  Oliver  says  that  it  symbolically  refers  to 
the  murder  of  Abel,  the  death  of  our  race  through  Adam, 
and  its  restoration  through  Christ 235 

Ragon  thinks  that  it  is  a  symbol  of  the  sun  shorn  of  its  vigor 
by  the  three  winter  months,  and  restored  to  generative 


344  SYNOPTICAL    INDEX. 

power  by  the  spring.  And  lastly,  Des  Etangs  says  that  it  is 
a  symbol  of  eternal  reason,  whose  enemies  are  the  vices 
that  deprave  and  finally  destroy  humanity.  ....  23G 

But  none  of  these  interpretations,  except  the  first,  can  be  sus 
tained 237 

LETTUCE.     The  sacred  plant  of   the  Mysteries   of  Adonis ;    a 

symbol  of  immortality,  and  the  analogue  of  the  acacia.        .  257 
LEVEL.     One  of  the  working  tools  of  a  Fellow  Craft.     It  is  a 

symbol  of  the  equality  of  station  of  all  men  before  God.      .     95 
LIBERAL   ARTS    AND    SCIENCES.      In  the  seventh   century,   all 
learning  was  limited  to  the  seven  liberal  arts  and  sciences; 
their  introduction  into  Freemasonry,  referring  to  this  theo 
ry,  is  a  symbol  of  the  completion  of  human  learning.            .  223 
LIGHT.     It  denotes  truth  and  knowledge,  and  is  so  explained  in 
all  the  ancient  systems  ;  in  initiation,  it  is  not  material  but 
intellectual  light  that  is  sought 148 

It  is  predominant  as  a  symbol  in  all  the  ancient  initiations.     .  149 

There  it  was  revered  because  it  was  an  emanation  from  the 
sun,  the  common  object  of  worship ;  but  the  theory  advanced 
by  some  writers,  that  the  veneration  of  light  originally  pro 
ceeded  from  its  physical  qualities,  is  not  correct.  .  .  151 

Pythagoras  called  it  the  good  principle  in  nature  ;  and  the  Cab- 
alists  taught  that  eternal  light  filled  all  space  before  the  crea 
tion,  and  that  after  creation  it  retired  to  a  central  spot,  and 
became  the  instrument  of  the  Divine  Mind  in  creating  mat 
ter 154 

It  is  the  symbol  of  the  autopsy,  or  the  full  perfection  and  fru 
ition  of  initiation.  ........  156 

It  is  therefore  a  fundamental  symbol  in  Freemasonry,  and 
contains  within  itself  the  very  essence  of  the  speculative 
science.          ..........  158 

LINGAM.     The  phallus  was  so  called  by  the  Indian  nations  of  the 

East.     Sec  Phallus 113 

LODGE.  The  place  where  Freemasons  meet,  and  also  the  con 
gregation  of  masons  so  met.  The  word  is  derived  from  the 
lodges  occupied  by  the  travelling  Freemasons  of  the  mid 
dle  ages.  ..........  63 

It  is  a  symbol  of  the  world,  or  universe.  ....  101 

Its  form,  an  oblong  square,  is   symbolic  of  the  supposed  ob 
long  form  of  the  world  as  known  to  the  ancients.          .         .   102 
LOST  WORD.     There  is  a  masonic  myth  that  there  was  a  certain 

word  which  was  lost  and  afterwards  recovered.    .         .         .20 

It  is  not  material  what  the  word  was,  nor  how  lost,  nor  when 


SYNOPTICAL    INDEX.  345 

recovered  :  the  symbolism  refers  only  to  the  abstract  idea  of 
a  loss  and  a  recovery.  .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .  264 

It  is  a  symbol  of  divine  truth.       . 266 

The   search   for  it  was  also   made  by  the  philosophers  and 
priests  in  the  Mysteries  of  the  Spurious  Freemasonry.         .  268 

LOTUS.     The  sacred  plant  of  the  Brahminical  Mysteries,  and 

the  analogue  of  the  acacia 257 

It  was  also  a  sacred  plant  among  the  Egyptians.      .         .         .  258 

LUSTRATION.  A  purification  by  washing  the  hands  or  body  in 
consecrated  water,  practised  in  the  ancient  Mysteries.  See 
Purification. 

Lux  (liglit*).  One  of  the  appellations  bestowed  upon  Freema 
sonry,  to  indicate  that  it  is  that  sublime  doctrine  of  truth  by 
which  the  pathway  of  him  who  has  attained  it  is  to  be  illu 
mined  in  the  pilgrimage  of  life.  Among  the  Rosicrucians, 
light  was  the  knowledge  of  the  philosopher's  stone ;  and 
Mosheim  says  that  in  chemical  language  the  cross  was  an 
emblem  of  light,  because  it  contains  within  its  figure  the 
forms  of  the  three  figures  of  which  LVX,  or  light,  is  com 
posed .148 

Lux  E  TENEBRIS  (liglit  out  of  darkness}.  A  motto  of  the  Ma 
sonic  Order,  which  is  equivalent  to  "  truth  out  of  initiation ;  " 
light  being  the  symbol  of  truth,  and  diirkness  the  symbol  of 
initiation  commenced 157 


M 

MAN.  Repeatedly  referred  to  by  Christ  and  the  apostles  as  the 

symbol  of  a  temple .98 

MASTER  MASON.  The  third  degree  of  Ancient  Craft  Masonry, 

analogous  to  the  epopt  of  the  ancient  Mysteries.  .  .  96 

MENATZCHIM.  Hebrew  Q^n22I?2>  superintendents,  or  overseers. 
The  Master  Masons  at  the  temple  of  Solomon.  (2  Chron. 
ii.  2.) 

MENU.  In  the  Indian  mythology,  Menu  is  the  son  of  Brahma, 
and  the  founder  of  the  Hindoo  religion.  Thirteen  other 
Menus  are  said  to  exist,  seven  of  whom  have  already  reigned 
on  earth.  But  it  is  the  first  one  whose  instructions  consti 
tute  the  whole  civil  and  religious  polity  of  the  Hindoos.  The 
code  attributed  to  him  by  the  Brahmins  has  been  translated 
by  Sir  William  Jones,  with  the  title  of  "  The  Institutes  of 
Menu." 156 

MIDDLE  CHAMBER.     A  part  of  the  Solomonic  temple,  which  was 


SYNOPTICAL    INDEX. 

approached  by  winding  stairs,  but  which  was   certainly  not 
appropriated  to  the  purpose  indicated  in  the  Fellow  Craft's 

degree.  , 210 

The  legend  of  the  Winding  Stairs  is  therefore  only  a  philo 
sophical  myth.       .........  214 

It  is  a  symbol  of  this  life  and  its  labors.  .....  226 

MISTLETOE.  The  sacred  plant  of  Druidism ;  commemorated 
also  in  the  Scandinavian  rites.  It  is  the  analogue  of  the 
acacia,  and  like  all  the  other  sacred  plants  of  antiquity,  is  a 
symbol  of  the  immortality  of  the  soul.  Lest  the  language 
of  the  text  should  be  misunderstood,  it  may  be  remarked 
here  that  the  Druidical  and  the  Scandinavian  rites  are  not 
identical.  The  former  are  Celtic,  the  latter  Gothic.  But 
the  fact  that  in  both  the  mistletoe  was  a  sacred  plant  affords 
a  violent  presumption  that  there  must  have  been  a  common 
point  from  which  both  religions  started.  There  was,  as  I 
have  said,  an  identity  of  origin  for  the  same  ancient  and  gen 
eral  symbolic  idea.  ........  260 

MITHRAS.  He  was  the  god  worshipped  by  the  ancient  Persians, 
and  celebrated  in  their  Mysteries  as  the  symbol  of  the  sun. 
In  the  initiation  in  these  Mysteries,  the  candidate  passed 
through  many  terrible  trials,  and  his  courage  and  fortitude 
were  exposed  to  the  most  rigorous  tests.  Among  others, 
after  ascending  the  mystical  ladder  of  seven  steps,  he 
passed  through  a  scenic  representation  of  Hades,  or  the  infer 
nal  regions ;  out  of  this  and  the  surrounding  darkness  he 
was  admitted  into  the  full  light  of  Elysium,  where  he  was 
obligated  by  an  oath  of  secrecy,  and  invested  by  the  Archi- 
magus,  or  High  Priest,  with  the  secret  instructions  of  the 
rite,  among  which  was  a  knowledge  of  the  Ineffable  Name.  26 

MOUNT  CALVARY.     A  small  hill  of  Jerusalem,  in  a  westerly  di 
rection,  and  not  far  from  Mount  Moriah.     In  the  legends 
of  Freemasonry  it  is  known  as   "a  small  hill  near  Mount 
Moriah,"    and   is  referred   to   in  the  third  degree.      This 
"small  hill  "  having  been  determined  as  the  burial-place  of 
Jesus,  the  symbol  has  been  Christianized  by  many  modern 
masons.          ..........  241 

There  are  many  masonic  traditions,  principally  borrowed  from 
the  Talmud,  connected  with  Mount  Calvary ;  such  as,  that 
it  was  the  place  where  Adam  was  buried,  &c.  .  .  .  242 

MOUNT  MORIAH.  The  hill  in  Jerusalem  on  which  the  temple 
of  Solomon  was  built. 

MYRTLE.     The  sacred  plant  in  the  Eleusinian  Mysteries,  and,  as 


SYNOPTICAL    INDEX.  347 

symbolic  of  a  resurrection  and  immortality,  the  analogue  of 
the  acacia.     ..........  260 

MYSTERIES.  A  secret  worship  paid  by  the  ancients  to  several 
of  the  pagan  gods,  to  which  none  were  admitted  but  those 
who  had  been  solemnly  initiated.  The  object  of  instruction 
in  these  Mysteries  was,  to  teach  the  unity  of  God  and  the 
immortality  of  the  soul.  They  were  divided  into  Lesser 
and  Greater  Mysteries.  The  former  were  merely  prepara 
tory.  In  the  latter  the  whole  knowledge  was  communicated. 
Speaking  of  the  doctrine  that  was  communicated  to  the 
initiates,  Philo  Judaeus  says  that  "it  is  an  incorruptible 
treasure,  not  like  gold  or  silver,  but  more  precious  than 
everything  beside ;  for  it  is  the  knowledge  of  the  Great 
Cause,  and  of  nature,  and  of  that  which  is  born  of  both." 
And  his  subsequent  language  shows  that  there  was  a  confra 
ternity  existing  among  the  initiates  like  that  of  the  masonic 
institution  ;  for  he  says,  with  his  peculiar  mysticism,  "  If  you 
meet  an  initiate,  besiege  him  with  your  prayers  that  he  con 
ceal  from  you  no  new  mysteries  that  he  may  know ;  and 
rest  not  until  you  have  obtained  them.  For  me,  although  I 
was  initiated  into  the  Great  Mysteries  by  Moses,  the  friend 
of  God,  yet,  having  seen  Jeremiah,  I  recognized  him  not 
only  as  an  Initiate,  but  as  a  Hierophant ;  and  I  followed  his 
school."  So,  too,  the  mason  acknowledges  every  initiate  as 
his  brother,  and  is  ever  ready  and  anxious  to  receive  all  the 
light  that  can  be  bestowed  on  the  Mysteries  in  which  he  has 
been  indoctrinated. 38 

MYSTES.  (From  the  Greek  *u;w,  to  shut  the  eyes.}  One  who 
bad  been  initiated  into  the  Lesser  Mysteries  of  paganism. 
He  was  now  blind,  but  when  he  was  initiated  into  the  Greater 
Mysteries  he  was  called  an  Epopt,  or  one  who  saw.  .  .  44 

MYTH.  Grote's  definition  of  the  myth,  which  is  cited  in  the 
text,  may  be  applied  without  modification  to  the  myths  of 
Freemasonry,  although  intended  by  the  author  only  for  the 

myths  of  the  ancient  Greek  religion 56 

The  myth,  then,  is  a  narrative  of  remote  date,  not  necessarily 
true  or  false,  but  whose  truth  can  only  be  certified  by  inter 
nal  evidence.  The  word  was  first  applied  to  those  fables  of 
the  pagan  gods  which  have  descended  from  the  remotest  an 
tiquity,  and  in  all  of  which  there  prevails  a  symbolic  idea, 
not  always,  however,  capable  of  a  positive  interpretation. 
As  applied  to  Freemasonry,  the  words  myth  and  legend  are 
synonymous. 200 


SYNOPTICAL    INDEX. 

From  this  definition  it  will  appear  that  the  myth  is  really  only 
the  interpretation  of  an  idea.     But  how  we  are  to  read  these 
myths  will  best  appear  from  these  noble  words  of  Max  Miil- 
ler :  ''Everything  is  true,  natural,   significant,  if  we  enter 
with  a  reverent  spirit  into  the  meaning  of  ancient  art  and 
ancient  language.     Everything  becomes  false,  miraculous, 
and  unmeaning,  if  we  interpret  the  deep  and  mighty  words 
of  the  seers  of  old  in  the  shallow  and  feeble  sense  of  mod 
ern  chroniclers."     (Science  of  Language,  2d  Ser.  p.  578.)  .  213 
MYTH,  HISTORICAL.     An  historical   myth  is  a  myth  that  has  a 
known  and  recognized  foundation   in  historical  truth,  but 
with  the  admixture  of  a  preponderating  amount  of  fiction  in 
the   introduction   of   personages   and  circumstances.      Be 
tween  the  historical  myth  and  the  mythical  history,  the  dis 
tinction  as  laid  down  in  the  text  cannot  always  be  preserved, 
because  we  are  not  always  able  to  determine  whether  there 
is  a  preponderance  of  truth  or  of  fiction  in   the   legend  or 
narrative  under  examination.         ......  205 

MYTHICAL  HISTORY.  A  myth  or  legend  in  which  the  historical 
and  truthful  greatly  preponderate  over  the  inventions  of  fic 
tion .•  205 

MYTHOLOGY.  Literally,  the  science  of  myths ;  and  this  is  a 
very  appropriate  definition,  for  mythology  is  the  science 
which  treats  of  the  religion  of  the  ancient  pagans,  which 
was  almost  altogether  founded  on  myths,  or  popular  tradi 
tions  and  legendary  tales ;  and  hence  Keightly  (Mythol.  of 
Ancient  Greece  and  Italy,  p.  2)  says  that  "  mythology  may 
be  regarded  as  the  repository  of  the  early  religion  of  the 
people."  Its  interest  to  a  masonic  student  arises  from  the 
constant  antagonism  that  existed  between  its  doctrines  and 
those  of  the  Primitive  Freemasonry  of  antiquity  and  the 
light  that  the  mythological  Mysteries  throw  upon  the  an 
cient  organization  of  Speculative  Masonry.  .  .  .56 
MYTH,  PHILOSOPHICAL.  This  is  a  myth  or  legend  that  is  almost 
wholly  unhistorical,  and  which  has  been  invented  only  for 
the  purpose  of  enunciating  and  illustrating  a  particular 
thought  or  dogma.  ........  205 

N 

NAME.  All  Hebrew  naines  are  significant,  and  were  originally 
imposed  with  reference  to  some  fact  or  feature  in  the  history 
or  character  of  the  persons  receiving  them.  Camden  says 


SYNOPTICAL    INDEX.  349 

that  the  same  custom  prevailed  among  all  the  nations  of  an 
tiquity.  So  important  has  this  subject  been  considered, 
that  "  Onomastica,"  or  treatises  on  the  signification  of  names 
have  been  written  by  Eusebius  and  St.  Jerome,  by  Simonis 
and  Hillerus,  and  by  several  other  scholars,  of  whom  Eu- 
sebe  Salverte  is  the  most  recent  and  the  most  satisfactory. 
Shuckford  (Connect,  ii.  377)  says  that  the  Jewish  liabbins 
thought  that  the  true  knowledge  of  names  was  a  science 
preferable  to  the  study  of  the  written  law 181 

NAME  OF  GOD.  The  true  pronunciation,  and  consequently  the 
signification,  of  the  name  of  God  can  only  be  obtained 

through  a  cabalistical  interpretation 187 

It  is  a  symbol  of  divine  truth.  None  but  those  who  are  famil 
iar  with  the  subject  can  have  any  notion  of  the  importance 
bestowed  on  this  symbol  by  the  Orientalists.  The  Arabians 
have  a  science  called  Ism  Allah,  or  the  science  of  the  name 
of  God  ;  and  the  Talmudists  and  Ilabbins  have  written  copi 
ously  on  the  same  subject.  The  Mussulmans,  says  Sal 
verte  (Essai  sur  les  Noms,  ii.  7),  have  one  hundred  names 
of  God,  which  they  repeat  while  counting  the  beads  of  a 
rosary. 197 

NEOPHYTE.  (From  the  Greek  r*»v  and  tpvior,  anew  plant.}  One 
who  has  been  recently  initiated  in  the  Mysteries.  St.  Paul 
uses  the  same  word  (1  Tim.  iii.  6)  to  denote  one  who  had 
been  recently  converted  to  the  Christian  faith.  .  .  .  162 

NOACHID^.  The  descendants  of  Noah,  and  the  transmitters  of 
his  religious  dogmas,  which  were  the  unity  of  God  and  the 
immortality  of  the  soul.  The  name  has  from  the  earliest 
times  been  bestowed  upon  the  Freemasons,  who  teach  the 
same  doctrines.  Thus  in  the  "old  charges,"  as  quoted  by 
Anderson  (Const,  edit.  1738,  p.  143),  it  is  said,  "A  mason  is 
obliged  by  his  tenure  to  observe  the  moral  law  as  a  true  No- 
achida3." 22 

NOACHITES.     The  same  as  Noachida,  which  see. 

NORTH.  That  part  of  the  earth  which,  being  most  removed  from 
the  influence  of  the  sun  at  his  meridian  height,  is  in  Free 
masonry  called  "  a  place  of  darkness."  Hence  it  is  a  sym 
bol  of  the  profane  world.  .......  167 

NORTH-EAST  CORNER.     An  important  ceremony  of  the  first  de 
gree,  which  refers  to  the  north-east  corner  of  the  lodge,  is 
explained  by  the  symbolism  of  the  corner-stone.            .         .   159 
The  corner-stone  of  a  building  is  always  laid  in  the  north-east 
corner,  for  symbolic  reasons 165 


35°  SYNOPTICAL  INDF:X. 

The  north-east  point  of  the  heavens  was  especially  sacred 
among  the  Hindoos IGa 

In  the  symbolism  of  Freemasonry,  the  north  refers  to  the 
outer  or  profane  world,  and  the  east  to  the  inner  world 
of  Masonry;  and  hence  the  north-east  is  symbolic  of  the 
double  position  of  the  neophyte,  partly  in  the  darkness  of 
the  former,  partly  in  the  light  of  the  latter.  .  .  .  167 

NUMBERS.  The  symbolism  of  saered  numbers,  which  prevails 
very  extensively  in  Freemasonry,  was  undoubtedly  bor 
rowed  from  the  school  of  Pythagoras  ;  but  it  is  just  as  likely 
that  he  got  it  from  Egypt  or  Babylon,  or  from  both.  The 
Pythagorean  doctrine  was,  according  to  Aristotle  (Met.  xii. 
8),  that  all  things  proceed  from  numbers.  M.  Dacier,  how 
ever,  in  his  life  of  the  philosopher,  denies  that  the  doctrine 
of  numbers  was  taught  by  Pythagoras  himself,  but  attributes 
it  to  his  later  disciples.  But  his  arguments  are  not  conclu 
sive  or  satisfactory.  ........  225 

o 

OATH  or  SECRECY.  It  was  always  administered  to  the  candi 
date  in  the  ancient  Mysteries.  ......  43 

ODD  NUMBERS.  In  the  system  of  Pythagoras,  odd  numbers  were 
symbols  of  perfection.  Hence  the  sacred  numbers  of  Free 
masonry  are  all  odd.  They  are  3,  5,  7,  9,  15,  27,  33,  and  81.  219 

OIL.  An  element  of  masonic  consecration,  and,  as  a  symbol  of 
prosperity  and  happiness,  is  intended,  under  the  name  of  the 
"oil  of  joy,"  to  indicate  the  expected  propitious  results  of 
the  consecration  of  any  thing  or  person  to  a  sacred  pur 
pose 174 

OLIVE.  In  a  secondary  sense,  the  symbol  of  peace  and  of  vic 
tory  ;  but  in  its  primary  meaning,  like  all  the  other  sacred 
plants  of  antiquity,  a  symbol  of  immortality ;  and  thus  in 
the  Mysteries  it  was  the  analogue  of  the  acacia  of  the  Free 
masons.  ..........  255 

OLIVER.  The  Rev.  George  Oliver,  D.  D.,  of  Lincolnshire,  Eng 
land,  who  died  in  1868,  is  by  far  the  most  distinguished  and 
the  most  voluminous  of  the  English  writers  on  Freemason 
ry.  Looking  to  his  vast  labors  and  researches  in  the  arcana 
of  the  science,  no  student  of  masonry  can  speak  of  his  name 
or  his  memory  without  profound  reverence  for  his  learning, 
and  deep  gratitude  for  the  services  that  he  has  accomplished. 
To  the  author  of  this  work  the  recollection  will  ever  be 


SYNOPTICAL    INDEX.  351 

most  grateful  that  he  enjoyed  the  friendship  of  so  good  and 
so  great  a  man;  one  of  whom  we  may  testify,  as  Johnson 
said  of  Goldsmith,  that  "  nihil  quod  tetigit  non  ornavit." 
In  his  writings  he  has  traversed  the  whole  field  of  masonic 
literature  and  science,  and  has  treated,  always  with  great 
ability  and  wonderful  research,  of  its  history,  its  antiquities, 
its  rites  and  ceremonies,  its  ethics,  and  its  symbols.  Of  all 
his  works,  his  "Historical  Landmarks,"  in  two  volumes,  is 
the  most  important,  the  most  useful,  and  the  one  which  will 
perhaps  the  longest  perpetuate  his  memory.  In  the  study 
of  his  works,  the  student  must  be  careful  not  to  follow  too 
implicitly  all  his  conclusions.  These  were  in  his  own  mind 
controlled  by  the  theory  which  he  had  adopted,  and  which 
he  continuously  maintained,  that  Freemasonry  was  a  Chris 
tian  institution,  and  that  the  connection  between  it  and  the 
Christian  religion  was  absolute  and  incontrovertible.  He 
followed  in  the  footsteps  of  Hutchinson,  but  with  a  far  more 
expanded  view  of  the  masonic  system. 

OPERATIVE  MASONRY.     Masonry  considered  merely  as  a  useful 
art,  intended  for  the  protection  and  the  convenience  of  man 
by  the  erection  of  edifices  which  may  supply  his  intellectual, 
religious,  and  physical  wants.        .         .         .         .         .         .83 

In  contradistinction  to  Speculative  Masonry,  therefore,  it  is 
said  to  be  engaged  in  the  construction  of  a  material  temple.  161 

ORAL  LAW.  The  oral  law  among  the  Jews  was  the  commen 
tary  on  and  the  interpretation  of  the  written  contained  in 
the  Pentateuch;  and  the  tradition  is,  that  it  was  delivered  to 
Moses  at  the  same  time,  accompanied  by  the  divine  com 
mand,  "Thou  shalt  not  divulge  the  words  which  I  have 
said  to  thee  out  of  my  mouth."  The  oral  law  was,  there 
fore,  never  intrusted  to  books ;  but  being  preserved  in  the 
memories  of  the  judges,  prophets,  priests,  and  wise  men, 
was  handed  down  from  one  to  the  other  through  a  long  suc 
cession  of  ages.  But  after  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  by 
the  Romans  under  Adrian,  A.  D.  135,  and  the  final  disper 
sion  of  the  Jews,  fears  being  entertained  that  the  oral  law 
would  be  lost,  it  was  then  committed  to  writing,  and  now 
constitutes  the  text  of  the  Talmud. 

ORMTJZD.  Worshipped  by  the  disciples  of  Zoroaster  as  the  prin 
ciple  of  good,  and  symbolized  by  light.  See  Ahriman.  .  153 

OSIRIS.  The  chief  god  of  the  ancient  Egyptians,  and  wor 
shipped  as  a  symbol  of  the  sun,  and  more  philosophically 
as  the  male  or  generative  principle.  Isis,  his  wife,  was  the 


35 2  SYNOPTICAL    INDEX. 

female  or  prolific  principle ;  and  Horus,  their  child,  was 
matter,  or  the  world  —  the  product  of  the  two  principles.  .  27 

OSIRIS,  MYSTERIES  OF.  The  Osirian  Mysteries  consisted  in  a 
scenic  representation  of  the  murder  of  Osiris  by  Typhon, 
the  subsequent  recovery  of  his  mutilated  body  by  Isis,  and 
his  deification,  or  restoration  to  immortal  life.  .  .  .39 

OVAL  TEMPLES.  Temples  of  an  oval  form  were  representations 

of  the  mundane  egg,  a  symbol  of  the  world.  .  .  .  107 


PALM  TREE.  In  its  secondary  sense  the  palm  tree  is  a  symbol 
of  victory ;  but  in  its  primary  signification  it  is  a  symbol  of 
the  victory  over  death,  that  is,  immortality.  .  .  .  255 

PARABLE.  A  narrative  in  which  one  thing  is  compared  "with 
another.  It  is  in  principle  the  same  as  a  symbol  or  an  alle 
gory 75 

PARALLEL  LINES.  The  lines  touching  the  circle  in  the  symbol 
of  the  point  within  a  circle.  They  are  said  to  represent  St. 
John  the  Baptist  and  St.  John  the  Evangelist;  but  they 
really  refer  to  the  solstitial  points  Cancer  and  Capricorn,  in 
the  zodiac.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .115 

PASTOS.  (From  the  Greek  nuaro?,  a  nuptial  coucliC)  The  cof 
fin  or  grave  which  contained  the  body  of  the  god  or  hero 
whose  death  was  scenically  represented  in  the  ancient  Mys 
teries.  .  .  .  .  . 44 

It  is  the  analogue  of  the  grave  in  the  third  degree  of  Masonry.  239 

PELASGIAN  RELIGION.  The  Pelasgians  were  the  oldest  if  not 
the  aboriginal  inhabitants  of  Greece.  Their  religion  dif 
fered  from  that  of  the  Hellenes  who  succeeded  them  in  be 
ing  less  poetical,  less  mythical,  and  more  abstract.  We 
know  little  of  their  religious  worship,  except  by  conjecture ; 
but  we  may  suppose  it  resembled  in  some  respects  the  doc 
trines  of  the  Primitive  Freemasonry.  Creuzer  thinks  that 
the  Pelasgians  were  either  a  nation  of  priests  or  a  nation 
ruled  by  priests 230 

PHALLUS.  A  representation  of  the  virile  member,  which  was 
venerated  as  a  religious  symbol  very  universally,  and  with 
out  the  slightest  lasciviousness,  by  the  ancients.  It  was  one 
of  the  modifications  of  sun  worship,  and  was  a  symbol  of 
the  fecundating  power  of  that  luminary.  The  masonic 
point  within  a  circle  is  undoubtedly  of  phallic  origin.  .  .  112 

PHILOSOPHY  OF  FREEMASONRY.     The  dogmas  taught  in  the  ma- 


SYNOPTICAL    INDEX.  353 

sonic  system  constitute  its  philosophy.  These  consist  in 
the  contemplation  of  God  as  one  and  eternal,  and  of  man  as 
immortal.  In  other  words,  the  philosophy  of  Freemasonry 
inculcates  the  unity  of  God  and  the  immortality  of  the 
soul .  .  .  .  .  .11 

PLUMB.  One  of  the  working  tools  of  a  Fellow  Craft,  and  a 

symbol  of  rectitude  of  conduct.  ......  95 

POINT  WITHIN  A  CIRCLE.  It  is  derived  from  the  ancient  sun 
worship,  and  is  in  reality  of  phallic  origin.  It  is  a  symbol 
of  the  universe,  the  sun  being  represented  by  the  point, 
while  the  circumference  is  the  universe.  ....  Ill 

PORCH  OF  THE  TEMPLE.     A  symbol  of  the  entrance  into  life.    .  220 

PRIMITIVE  FREEMASONRY.  The  Primitive  Freemasonry  of  the 
antediluvians  is  a  term  for  which  we  are  indebted  to  Oliver, 
although  the  theory  was  broached  by  earlier  writers,  and 
among  them  by  the  Chevalier  Ramsay.  The  theory  is,  that 
the  principles  and  doctrines  of  Freemasonry  existed  in  the 
earliest  ages  of  the  world,  and  were  believed  and  practised 
by  a  primitive  people,  or  priesthood,  under  the  name  of 
Pure  or  Primitive  Freemasonry.  That  this  Freemasonry, 
that  is  to  say,  the  religious  doctrine  inculcated  by  it,  was, 
after  the  flood,  corrupted  by  the  pagan  philosophers  and 
priests,  and,  receiving  the  title  of  Spurious  Freemasory,  was 
exhibited  in  the  ancient  Mysteries.  The  NoachidaB,  how 
ever,  preserved  the  principles  of  the  Primitive  Freemasonry, 
and  transmitted  them  to  succeeding  ages,  when  at  length 
they  assumed  the  name  of  Speculative  Masonry.  The  Prim 
itive  Freemasonry  was  probably  without  ritual  or  symbol 
ism,  and  consisted  only  of  a  series  of  abstract  propositions 
derived  from  antediluvian  traditions.  Its  dogmas  were  the 
unity  of  God  and  the  immortality  of  the  soul.  .  .  .29 

PROFANE.  One  who  has  not  been  initiated  as  a  Freemason.  In 
the  technical  language  of  the  Order,  all  who  are  not  Free 
masons  are  profanes.  The  term  is  derived  from  the  Latin 
words  pro  fano,  which  literally  signify  "  in  front  of  the  tem 
ple,"  because  those  in  the  ancient  religions  who  were  not 
initiated  in  the  sacred  rites  or  Mysteries  of  any  deity  were 
not  permitted  to  enter  the  temple,  but  Avere  compelled  to 
remain  outside,  or  in  front  of  it.  They  were  kept  on  the 
outside.  The  expression  a  profane  is  not  recognized  as  a 
noun  substantive  in  the  general  usage  of  the  language ;  but 
it  has  been  adopted  as  a  technical  term  in  the  dialect  of  Free- 

23 


354  SYNOPTICAL    INDEX. 

masonry,  in  the  same  relative  sense  in  which  the  word  lay 
man  is  used  in  the  professions  of  law  and  divinity.  .  .  168 

PURE  FREKMASONRY  OF  ANTIQUITY.  The  same  as  Primitive 
Freemasonry,  —  which  see. 

PURIFICATION.  A  religious  rite  practised  by  the  ancients,  and 
which  was  performed  before  any  act  of  devotion.  It  con 
sisted  in  washing  the  hands,  and  sometimes  the  whole  body, 
in  lustral  or  consecrated  water.  It  was  intended  as  a  sym 
bol  of  the  internal  purification  of  the  heart.  It  was  a  cere 
mony  preparatory  to  initiation  in  all  the  ancient  Mysteries.  93 

PYTHAGORAS.  A  Grecian  philosopher,  supposed  to  have  been 
born  in  the  island  of  Samos,  about  584  B.  C.  He  trav 
elled  extensively  for  the  purpose  of  acquiring  knowledge. 
In  Egypt  he  was  initiated  in  the  Mysteries  of  that  country 
by  the  priests.  He  also  repaired  to  Babylon,  where  he  be 
came  acquainted  with  the  mystical  learning  of  the  Chalde 
ans,  and  had,  no  doubt,  much  communication  with  the  Israel- 
itish  captives  who  had  been  exiled  from  Jerusalem,  and  were 
then  dwelling  in  Babylon.  On  his  return  to  Europe  he  es 
tablished  a  school,  which  in  its  organization,  as  well  as  its 
doctrines,  bore  considerable  resemblance  to  Speculative  Ma 
sonry ;  for  which  reason  he  has  been  claimed  as  "  an  ancient 
friend  and  brother"  by  the  modern  Freemasons.  .  .  60 

R 

RESURRECTION.  This  doctrine  was  taught  in  the  ancient  Mys 
teries,  as  it  is  in  Freemasonry,  by  a  scenic  representation. 
The  initiation  was  death,  the  autopsy  was  resurrection. 
Freemasonry  does  not  interest  itself  with  the  precise  mode 
of  the  resurrection,  or  whether  the  body  buried  and  the  body 
raised  are  in  all  their  parts  identical.  Satisfied  with  the 
general  teaching  of  St.  Paul,  concerning  the  resurrection 
that  "it  is  sown  a  natural  body,  it  is  raised  a  spiritual 
body,"  Freemasonry  inculcates  by  its  doctrine  of  the  res 
urrection  the  simple  fact  of  a  progressive  advancement  from 
a  lower  to  a  higher  sphere,  and  the  raising  of  the  soul  from 
the  bondage  of  death  to  its  inheritance  of  eternal  life.  .  157 

RITUAL.  The  forms  and  ceremonies  used  in  conferring  the  de 
grees,  or  in  conducting  the  labors,  of  a  lodge  are  called  the 
ritual.  There  are  many  rites  of  Freemasonry,  which  differ 
from  each  other  in  the  number  and  division  of  the  degrees, 
and  in  their  rituals,  or  forms  and  ceremonies.  But  the  great 


SYNOPTICAL    INDEX.  355 

principles  of  Freemasonry,  its  philosophy  and  its  symbol 
ism,  are  alike  in  all.  It  is  evident,  then,  that  in  an  investi- 
gatjon  of  the  symbolism  of  Freemasonry,  we  have  no  con 
cern  with  its  ritual,  which  is  but  an  outer  covering  that  is 
intended  to  conceal  the  treasure  that  is  within.  .  .  .11 

ROSICRUCIANS.  A  sect  of  hermetical  philosophers,  founded  in 
the  fifteenth  century,  who  were  engaged  in  the  study  of  ab 
struse  sciences.  It  was  a  secret  society  much  resembling 
the  masonic  in  its  organization,  and  in  some  of  the  subjects 
of  its  investigation ;  but  it  was  in  no  other  way  connected 
with  Freemasonry.  It  is,  however,  well  worth  the  study  of 
the  masonic  student  on  account  of  the  light  that  it  throws 
upon  many  of  the  masonic  symbols.  .....  156 

ROYAL  ART.  Freemasonry  is  so  called  because  it  is  supposed 
to  have  been  founded  by  two  kings,  —  the  kings  of  Israel 
and  Tyre,  —  and  because  it  has  been  subsequently  encour 
aged  and  patronized  by  monarchs  in  all  countries.  .  .  69 

s 

SABIANISM,  or  SABAISM.  The  worship  of  the  sun,  moon,  and 
stars,  the  t^faTLTl  &C2T»  TSABA  Ifashmaim,  "the  host  of 
heaven."  It  was  practised  in  Persia,  Chaldea,  India,  and 
other  Oriental  countries,  at  an  early  period  of  the  world's 
history.  Sun-worship  has  had  a  powerful  influence  on  sub 
sequent  and  more  rational  religions,  and  relics  of  it  are  to 
be  found  even  in  the  symbolism  of  Freemasonry.  .  .  26 

SACELLUM.  A  sacred  place  consecrated  to  a  god,  and  contain 
ing  an  altar.  .........  149 

SAINTE  CROIX.  The  work  of  the  Baron  de  Sainte  Croix,  in  two 
volumes,  entitled,  "  Recherches  Historiques  et  Critiques  sur 
les  Mysteres  du  Paganisme,"  is  one  of  the  most  valuable 
and  instructive  works  that  we  have  in  any  language  on  the 
ancient  Mysteries,  —  those  religious  associations  whose  his 
tory  and  design  so  closely  connect  them  with  Freemasonry. 
To  the  student  of  masonic  philosophy  and  symbolism  this 
work  of  Sainte  Croix  is  absolutely  essential.  .  .  .16 

SALSETTE.  An  island  in  the  Bay  of  Bombay,  celebrated  for  stu 
pendous  caverns  excavated  artificially  out  of  the  solid  rock, 
and  which  were  appropriated  to  the  initiations  in  the  ancient 
Mysteries  of  India.  ........ 

SENSES,  FIVE  HUMAN.     A  symbol  of  intellectual  cultivation.     . 

SETH.     It  is  the  masonic  theory  that  the  principles  of  the  Pure 


356  SYNOPTICAL    INDEX. 

or  Primitive  Freemasonry  were  preserved  in  the  race  of 
Seth,  which  had  always  kept  separate  from  that  of  Cain, 
but  that  after  the  flood  they  became  corrupted,  by  a  seces 
sion  of  a  portion  of  the  Sethites,  who  established  the  Spu 
rious  Freemasonry  of  the  Gentiles. 

SEVEN.     A  sacred  number  among  the  Jews  and  the  Gentiles, 

and  called  by  Pythagoras  a  "venerable  number."         .         .  120 

SHEM  HAMPHORASH.  (^TD^n  EE>  ^e  declaratory  name.}  The 
tetragrammaton  is  so  called,  because,  of  all  the  names  of 
God,  it  alone  distinctly  declares  his  nature  and  essence  as 
self-existent  and  eternal 181 

SHOE.     See  Investiture,  Rite  of. 

SIGNS.  There  is  abundant  evidence  that  they  were  used  in  the 
ancient  Mysteries.  They  are  valuable  only  as  modes  of 
recognition.  But  while  they  are  absolutely  conventional, 
they  have,  undoubtedly,  in  Freemasonry,  a  symbolic  refer 
ence.  ...........  213 

SIVA.     One  of  the  manifestations  of  the  supreme  deity  of  the 

Hindoos,  and  a  symbol  of  the  sun  in  its  meridian.         .         .  108 

SONS  OF  LIGHT.      Freemasons  are  so  called  because  Lux,  or 

Light,  is  one  of  the  names  of  Speculative  Masonry.     .         .  158 

SOLOMON.     The  king  of  Israel,  and  the  founder  of  the  temple  of 

Jerusalem  and  of  the  temple  organization  of  Freemasonry.     81 
That  his  ruind  was  eminently  symbolic  in  its  propensities,  is 
evident  from  all  the  writings  that  are  attributed  to  him.         .     82 

SPECULATIVE  MASONRY.     Freemasonry  considered  as  a  science 
which  speculates  on  the  character  of  God  and  man,  and  is 
engaged  in  philosophical  investigations  of  the  soul  and  a 
future  existence,  for  which  purpose  it  uses  the  terms  of  an 
operative  art.         .........     84 

It  is  engaged  symbolically  in  the  construction  of  a  spiritual 

temple 161 

There  is  in  it  always  a  progress  —  an  advancement  from  a 
lower  to  a  higher  sphere 2G1 

SPIRITUAL  TEMPLE.  The  body  of  man ;  that  temple  alluded  to 
by  Christ  and  St.  Paul ;  the  temple,  in  the  construction  of 
which  the  Speculative  Mason  is  engaged,  in  contradistinc 
tion  to  that  material  temple  which  occupies  the  labors  of  the 
Operative  Mason. 162 

SPURIOUS  FREEMASONRY  OF  ANTIQUITY.  A  term  applied  to  the 
initiations  in  the  Mysteries  of  the  ancient  pagan  world,  and 
to  the  doctrines  taught  in  those  Mysteries.  See  Mysteries.  32 

SQUARE.     A  geometric  figure  consisting  of  four  equal  sides  and 


SYNOPTICAL    INDEX.  357 

equal  angles.  In  Freemasonry  it  is  a  symbol  of  morality,  or 
the  strict  performance  of  every  duty.  The  Greeks  deemed 
it  a  figure  of  perfection,  and  the  "  square  man  "  was  a  man 
of  unsullied  integrity.  ........  163 

SQUARE,  TRYING.  One  of  the  working-tools  of  a  Fellow  Craft, 

and  a  symbol  of  morality.  .......  95 

STONE  OF  FOUNDATION.  A  very  important  symbol  in  the  ma 
sonic  system.  It  is  like  the  word,  the  symbol  of  divine 
truth 281 

STONE  WORSHIP.  A  very  early  form  of  fetichism.  The  Pelas- 
gians  are  supposed  to  have  given  to  their  statues  of  the  gods 
the  general  form  of  cubical  stones,  whence  in  Hellenic  times 
came  the  Herrnae,  or  images  of  Hermes 293 

SUBSTITUTE  WORD.  A  symbol  of  the  unsuccessful  search  after 
divine  truth,  and  the  discovery  in  this  life  of  only  an  approx 
imation  to  it.  .........  268 

SUN.  RISING.  In  the  Sabian  worship  the  rising  sun  was  adored 
on  its  resurrection  from  the  apparent  death  of  its  evening 
setting.  Hence,  in  the  ancient  Mysteries,  the  rising  sun  was 
a  symbol  of  the  regeneration  of  the  soul.  .  .  .  .  231 

SUN-WORSHIP.  The  most  ancient  of  all  superstitions.  It  pre 
vailed  especially  in  Phoenicia,  Chaldea,  and  Egypt,  and  traces 
of  it  have  been  discovered  in  Peru  and  Mexico.  Its  influ 
ence  was  felt  in  the  ancient  Mysteries,  and  abundant  allu 
sions  to  it  are  to  be  found  in  the  symbolism  of  Freema 
sonry.  . 109 

SWEDENBORG.  A  Swedish  philosopher,  and  the  founder  of  a  re 
ligious  sect.  Clavel,  Ragon,  and  some  other  writers  have 
sought  to  make  him  the  founder  of  a  masonic  rite  also,  but 
without  authority.  In  1767  Chastanier  established  the  rite 
of  Illuminated  Theosophists,  whose  instructions  are  derived 
from  the  writings  of  Swedenborg,  but  the  sage  himself  had 
nothing  to  do  with  it.  Yet  it  cannot  be  denied  that  the  mind 
of  Swedenborg  was  eminently  symbolic  in  character,  and 
that  the  masonic  student  may  derive  many  valuable  ideas 
from  portions  of  his  numerous  works,  especially  from  his 
"  Celestial  Arcana  "  and  his  "  Apocalypse  Revealed."  .  274 

SYMBOL.  A  visible  sign  with  which  a  spiritual  feeling,  emotion, 
or  idea  is  connected.  —  Midler.  Every  natural  thing  which 
is  made  the  sign  or  representation  of  a  moral  idea  is  a 
symbol.  .  .........  73 

SYMBOL,  COMPOUND.  A  species  of  symbol  not  unusual  in  Free 
masonry,  where  the  symbol  is  to  be  taken  in  a  double  sense, 


358  SYNOPTICAL    INDEX. 

meaning  in  its  general  application  one  thing,  and  then  in  a 
special  application  another.  ......  306 

SYMBOLISM,  SCIENCE  OF.  To  what  has  been  said  in  the  text, 
may  be  added  the  following  apposite  remarks  of  Squier : 
"  In  the  absence  of  a  written  language  or  forms  of  expres 
sion  capable  of  conveying  abstract  ideas,  we  can  readily 
comprehend  the  necessity,  among  a  primitive  people,  of  a 
symbolic  system.  That  symbolism  in  a  great  degree  re 
sulted  from  this  necessity,  is  very  obvious ;  and  that,  asso 
ciated  with  man's  primitive  religious  systems,  it  was 
afterwards  continued,  when  in  the  advanced  stage  of  the 
human  mind,  the  previous  necessity  no  longer  existed,  is 
equally  undoubted.  It  thus  came  to  constitute  a  kind  of 
sacred  language,  and  became  invested  with  an  esoteric  sig 
nificance  understood  only  by  the  few." —  The  Serpent  Sym 
bol  in  America,  p.  19.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .71 


TABERNACLE.  Erected  by  Moses  in  the  wilderness  as  a  tempo 
rary  place  for  divine  worship.  It  was  the  antitype  of  the 
temple  of  Jerusalem,  and,  like  it,  was  a  symbol  of  the 
universe.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .79 

TALISMAN.  A  figure  either  carved  in  metal  or  stone,  or  delineat 
ed  on  parchment  or  paper,  made  with  superstitious  ceremo 
nies  under  what  was  supposed  to  be  the  special  influence  of 
the  planetary  bodies,  and  believed  to  possess  occult  powers  of 
protecting  the  maker  or  possessor  from  danger.  The  figure 
in  the  text  is  a  talisman,  and  among  the  Orientals  no  talis 
man  was  more  sacred  than  this  one  where  the  nine  digits 
are  so  disposed  as  to  make  15  each  way.  The  Arabians 
called  it  zahal,  which  was  the  name  of  the  planet  Saturn, 
because  the  nine  digits  added  together  make  45,  and  the 
letters  of  the  word  zahal  are,  according  to  the  numerical 
powers  of  the  Arabic  alphabet,  equivalent  to  45.  The  cab- 
alists  esteem  it  because  15  was  the  numerical  power  of  the 
letters  composing  the  word  JAH,  which  is  one  of  the  names 
of  God 225 

TALMUD.  The  mystical  philosophy  of  the  Jewish  Rabbins  is 
contained  in  the  Talmud,  which  is  a  collection  of  books 
divided  into  two  parts,  the  Mishna,  which  contains  the  rec 
ord  of  the  oral  law,  first  committed  to  writing  in  the  second 
or  third  century,  and  the  Gemara,  or  commentaries  on  it.  In 


SYNOPTICAL    INDEX.  359 

the  Talmud  much  will  be  found  of  great  interest  to  the  ma 
sonic  student 285 

TEMPLE.  The  importance  of  the  temple  in  the  symbolism  of 
Freemasonry  will  authorize  the  following  citation  from  the 
learned  Montfaucon  (Ant.  ii.  1.  ii.  ch.  ii.)  :  "  Concerning  the 
origin  of  temples,  there  is  a  variety  of  opinions.  According  to 
Herodotus,  the  Egyptians  were  the  first  that  made  altars,  stat 
ues,  and  temples.  It  does  not,  however,  appear  that  there  were 
any  in  Egypt  in  the  time  of  Moses,  for  he  never  mentions 
them,  although  he  had  many  opportunities  for  doing  so. 
Lucian  says  that  the  Egyptians  were  the  first  people  who  built 
temples,  and  that  the  Assyrians  derived  the  custom  from  them, 
all  of  which  is,  however,  very  uncertain.  The  first  allusion 
to  the  subject  in  Scripture  is  the  Tabernacle,  which  was,  in 
fact,  a  portable  temple,  and  contained  one  place  within  it 
more  holy  and  secret  than  the  others,  called  the  Holy  of 
Holies,  and  to  which  the  adytum  in  the  pagan  temples  cor 
responded.  The  first  heathen  temple  mentioned  in  Scrip 
ture  is  that  of  Dagon,  the  god  of  the  Philistines.  The 
Greeks,  who  were  indebted  to  the  Phoenicians  for  many 
things,  may  be  supposed  to  have  learned  from  them  the  art 
of  building  temples ;  and  it  is  certain  that  the  Romans  bor 
rowed  from  the  Greeks  both  the  worship  of  the  gods  and  the 
construction  of  temples."  . 268 

TEMPLE  BUILDER.     The  title  by  which  Hiram  Abif  is  sometimes 

designated 229 

TEMPLE  OF  SOLOMON.  The  building  erected  by  King  Solomon 
on  Mount  Moriah,  in  Jerusalem,  has  been  often  called  "the 
cradle  of  Freemasonry,"  because  it  was  there  that  that  union 
took  place  between  the  operative  and  speculative  masons, 
which  continued  for  centuries  afterwards  to  present  the  true 

organization  of  the  masonic  system 16 

As  to  the  size  of  the  temple,  the  dimensions  given  in  the  text 
may  be  considered  as  accurate  so  far  as  they  agree  with  the 
description  given  in  the  First  Book  of  Kings.  Josephus  gives 
a  larger  measure,  and  makes  the  length  105  feet,  the  breadth 
35  feet,  and  the  height  210  feet;  but  even  these  will  not  in 
validate  the  statement  in  the  text,  that  in  size  it  was  sur 
passed  by  many  a  parish  church. 81 

TEMPLE  SYMBOLISM.  That  symbolism  which  is  derived  from 
the  temple  of  Solomon.  It  is  the  most  fertile  of  all  kinds 
of  symbolism  in  the  production  of  materials  for  the  masonic 
science. 85 


360  SYNOPTICAL    INDEX. 

TERMINUS.  One  of  the  most  ancient  of  the  Roman  deities.  He 
was  the  god  of  boundaries  and  landmarks,  and  his  statue 
consisted  only  of  a  cubical  stone,  without  arms  or  legs,  to 
show  that  he  was  immovable 170 

TETRACTYS.  A  figure  used  by  Pythagoras,  consisting  of  ten 
points,  arranged  in  a  triangular  form  so  as  to  represent  the 
monad,  duad,  triad,  and  quarterniad.  It  was  considered  as 
very  sacred  by  the  Pythagoreans,  and  was  to  them  what  the 
tetragrammaton  was  to  the  Jews 184 

TETRAGRAMMATON.  (From  the  Greek  Tirfiag,  four,  and  YQUU- 
^«,  a  letter.)  The  four-lettered  name  of  God  in  the  He 
brew  language,  which  consisted  of  four  letters,  viz.  j-n,-p» 
commonly,  but  incorrectly,  pronounced  Jehovah.  As  a  sym 
bol  it  greatly  pervaded  the  rites  of  antiquity,  and  was  per 
haps  the  earliest  symbol  corrupted  by  the  Spurious  Freema 
sonry  of  the  pagan  Mysteries 175 

It  was  held  by  the  Jews  in  profound  veneration,  and  its  origin 
supposed  to  have  been  by  divine  revelation  at  the  burning 

bush 176 

The  word  was  never  pronounced,  but  wherever  met  with 
Adonai  was  substituted  for  it,  which  custom  was  derived 
from  the  perverted  reading  of  a  passage  in  the  Pentateuch. 
The  true  pronunciation  consequently  was  utterly  lost ;  this 
is  explained  by  the  want  of  vowels  in  the  Hebrew  alphabet, 
so  that  the  true  vocalization  of  a  word  cannot  be  learned 

from  the  letters  of  which  it  is  composed 178 

The  true  pronunciation  was  intrusted  to  the  high  priest; 
but  lest  the  knowledge  of  it  should  be  lost  by  his  sudden 
death,  it  was  also  communicated  to  his  assistant;  it  was 
known  also,  probably,  to  the  kings  of  Israel.  .  .  .  180 
The  Cabalists  and  Talmudists  enveloped  it  in  a  host  of  super 
stitions 181 

It  was  also  used  by  the  Essenes  in  their  sacred  rites,  and  by 
the  Egyptians  as  a  pass-word.       ......  182 

Cabalistically  read  and  pronounced,  it  means  the  male  and 
female  principle  of  nature,  the  generative  and  prolific  en 
ergy  of  creation. 185 

THAMMDZ.  A  Syrian  god,  who  was  worshipped  by  those  women 
of  the  Hebrews  who  had  fallen  into  idolatry.  The  idol  was 
the  same  as  the  Phoenician  Adonis,  and  the  Mysteries  of  the 
two  were  identical.  ........  42 

TRAVELLING  FREEMASONS.     See  Freemasons,  Travelling. 

TRESTLE  BOARD.     The  board  or  tablet  on  which  the  designs  of 


SYNOPTICAL   INDEX.  361 

the  architect  are  inscribed.     It  is  a  symbol  of  the  moral  law 

as  set  forth  in  the  revealed  will  of  God 88 

Every  man  must  have  his  trestle  board,  because  it  is  the  duty 
of  every  man  to  work  out  the  task  which  God,  the  chief 
Architect,  has  assigned  to  him 263 

TRIANGLE.     A  symbol  of  Deity.  .         .         .         .         .         .181 

This  symbolism  is  found  in  many  of  the  ancient  religions.       .  182 
Among  the  Egyptians  it  was  a  symbol  of  universal  nature,  or 
of  the  protection  of  the  world  by  the  male  and  female  en 
ergies  of  creation 195 

TRIANGLE,  RADIATED.  A  triangle  placed  within  a  circle  of  rays. 
In  Christian  art  it  is  a  symbol  of  God ;  then  the  rays  are 
called  a  glory.  When  they  surround  the  triangle  in  the  form 
of  a  circle,  the  triangle  is  a  symbol  of  the  glory  of  God. 
When  the  rays  emanate  from  the  centre  of  the  triangle,  it 
is  a  symbol  of  divine  light.  This  is  the  true  form  of  the 
masonic  radiated  triangle 195 

TRILITERAL  NAME.  This  is  the  word  AUM,  which  is  the  ineffa 
ble  name  of  God  among  the  Hindoos,  and  symbolizes  the 
three  manifestations  of  the  Brahminical  supreme  god,  Brah 
ma,  Siva,  and  Vishnu.  It  was  never  to  be  pronounced 
aloud,  and  was  analogous  to  the  sacred  tetragramniaton  of 
the  Jews 183 

TROWEL.     One  of  the  working  tools  of  a  Master  Mason.     It  is 

a  symbol  of  brotherly  love 97 

TRUTH.  It  was  not  always  taught  publicly  by  the  ancient  phi 
losophers  to  the  people 33 

The  search  for  it  is  the  object  of  Freemasonry.  It  is  never 
found  on  earth,  but  a  substitute  for  it  is  provided.  .  .  30G 

TUAPHOLL.  A  term  used  by  the  Druids  to  designate  an  unhal 
lowed  circumambulation  around  the  sacred  cairn,  or  altar, 
the  movement  being  against  the  sun,  that  is,  from  west  to 
east  by  the  north,  the  cairn  being  on  the  left  hand  of  the  cir 
cumambulator 140 

TUBAL  CAIN.  Of  the  various  etymologies  of  this  name,  only 
one  is  given  in  the  text;  but  most  of  the  others  in  some  way 
identify  him  with  Vulcan.  Wellsford  (Mithridates  Minor, 
p.  4)  gives  a  singular  etymology,  deriving  the  name  of  the 
Hebrew  patriarch  from  the  definite  article  j-|,  converted  into 
fi,  or  T  and  J3aal,  "  Lord,"  with  the  Arabic  kayn,  "  a  black 
smith,"  so  that  the  word  would  then  signify  "  the  lord  of  the 
blacksmiths."  Masonic  writers  have,  however,  generally 
adopted  the  more  usual  derivation  of  Cain,  from  a  word  sig- 


3°2  SYNOPTICAL    INDEX. 

nifying  possession  /  and  Oliver  descants  on  Tubal  Cain  as  a 
symbol  of  worldly  possessions.  As  to  the  identity  of  Vul 
can  with  Tubal  Cain,  we  may  learn  something  from  the  def 
inition  of  the  offices  of  the  former,  as  given  by  Diodorus 
Siculus  :  "  Vulcan  was  the  first  founder  of  works  in  iron, 
brass,  gold,  silver,  and  all  fusible  metals ;  and  he  taught 
the  uses  to  which  fire  can  be  applied  in  the  arts."  See  Gen 
esis  :  "  Tubal  Cain,  an  instructor  of  every  artificer  in  brass 
and  iron." 

TWENTY-FOUR  INCH  GAUGE.  A  two-foot  rule.  One  of  the 
working-tools  of  an  Entered  Apprentice,  and  a  symbol  of 
time  well  employed 92 

TYPHON.  The  brother  and  slayer  of  Osiris  in  the  Egyptian  my 
thology.  As  Osiris  was  a  type  or  symbol  of  the  sun,  Ty- 
phon  was  the  symbol  of  winter,  when  the  vigor,  heat,  and, 
as  it  were,  life  of  the  sun  are  destroyed,  and  of  darkness  as 
opposed  to  light 108 

TYRE.  A  city  of  Phoenicia,  the  residence  of  King  Hiram,  the 
friend  and  ally  of  Solomon,  whom  he  supplied  with  men 
and  materials  for  the  construction  of  the  temple.  .  .  49 

TYRIAN  FREEMASONS.  These  were  the  members  of  the  Society 
of  Dionysiac  Artificers,  who  at  the  time  of  the  building  of 
Solomon's  temple  flourished  at  Tyre.  Many  of  them  were 
sent  to  Jerusalem  by  Hiram,  King  of  Tyre,  to  assist  King 
Solomon  in  the  construction  of  his  temple.  There,  uniting 
with  the  Jews,  who  had  only  a  knowledge  of  the  speculative 
principles  of  Freemasonry,  which  had  been  transmitted  to 
them  from  Noah,  through  the  patriarchs,  the  Tyrian  Free 
masons  organized  that  combined  system  of  Operative  and 
Speculative  Masonry  which  continued  for  many  centuries, 
until  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth,  to  characterize  the 
institution.  See  Dionysiac  Artificers.  ....  269 

u 

UNION.  The  union  of  the  operative  with  the  speculative  ele 
ment  of  Freemasonry  took  place  at  the  building  of  King 
Solomon's  temple. 

UNITY  OF  GOD.  This,  as  distinguished  from  the  pagan  doctrine 
of  polytheism,  or  a  multitude  of  gods,  is  one  of  the  two  re 
ligious  truths  taught  in  Speculative  Masonry,  the  other  being 
the  immortality  of  the  soul. 22 


SYNOPTICAL   INDEX.  363 


w 

WEARY  SOJOURNERS.  The  legend  of  the  "three  weary  sojourn- 
ers  "  in  the  Royal  Arch  degree  is  undoubtedly  a  philosoph 
ical  myth,  symbolizing  the  search  after  truth.  .  .  .  212 

WHITE.     A  symbol  of  innocence  and  purity.       ....  132 
Among  the  Pythagoreans  it  was  a  symbol  of  the  good  princi 
ple  in  nature,  equivalent  to  light. 154 

WIDOW'S  SON.     An  epithet  bestowed  upon  the  chief  architect 
•     of  the  temple,  because  he  was  "a  widow's  son  of  the  tribe 
of  Naphthali."     1  Kings  vii.  14 51 

WINDING  STAIRS,  LEGEND  or.  A  legend  in  the  Fellow  Craft's 
degree  having  no  historical  truth,  but  being  simply  a  philo 
sophical  myth  or  legendary  symbol  intended  to  communi 
cate  a  masonic  dogma. 210 

It  is  the  symbol  of  an  ascent  from  a  lower  to  a  higher  sphere.  217 
It  commences  at  the  porch  of  the  temple,  which  is  a  symbol 

of  the  entrance  into  life.       . 218 

The  number  of  steps  are  always  odd,  because  odd  numbers  are 

a  symbol  of  perfection. 219 

But  the  fifteen  steps  in  the  American  system  are  a  symbol  of 
the  name  of  God,  Jah.  .......  225 

WINE.  An  element  of  masonic  consecration,  and,  as  a  symbol 
of  the  inward  refreshment  of  a  good  conscience,  is  intended 
under  the  name  of  the  "wine  of  refreshment,"  to  remind  us 
of  the  eternal  refreshments  which  the  good  are  to  receive  in 
the  future  life  for  the  faithful  performance  of  duty  in  the 
present. 173 

WORD.  In  Freemasonry  this  is  a  technical  and  symbolic  term, 
and  signifies  divine  truth.  The  search  after  this  word  con 
stitutes  the  whole  system  of  speculative  masonry.  .  .  306 

WORD,  LOST.     See  Lost  Word. 

WORD,  SUBSTITUTE.     See  Substitute  Word. 

WORK.  In  Freemasonry  the  initiation  of  a  candidate  is  called 
work.  It  is  suggestive  of  the  doctrine  that  labor  is  a  ma 
sonic  duty 266 


YGGDRASIL.  The  sacred  ash  tree  in  the  Scandinavian  Myste 
ries.  Dr.  Oliver  propounds  the  theory  that  it  is  the  ana 
logue  of  the  theological  ladder  in  the  Masonic  Mysteries. 
But  it  is  doubtful  whether  this  theory  is  tenable.  .  .119 


364  SYNOPTICAL    INDEX. 

YOD.  A  Hebrew  letter,  in  form  thus  i,  and  about  equivalent  to 
the  English  I  or  Y.  It  is  the  initial  letter  of  the  tetragram- 
maton,  and  is  often  used,  especially  enclosed  within  a  tri 
angle,  as  a  substitute  for,  or  an  abridgment  of,  that  sacred 

word 181 

It  is  a  symbol  of  the  life-giving  and  sustaining  power  of  God.  190 

YONI.  Among  the  nations  and  religions  of  India  the  yoni  was 
the  representation  of  the  female  organ  of  generation,  and 
was  the  symbol  of  the  prolific  power  of  nature.  It  is  the 
same  as  the  cteis  among  the  Occidental  nations.  .  .  .113 

z 

ZENNAAR.  The  sacred  girdle  of  the  Hindoos.  It  is  supposed 

to  be  the  analogue  of  the  masonic  apron 131 

ZOROASTER.  A  distinguished  philosopher  and  reformer,  whose 
doctrines  were  professed  by  the  ancient  Persians.  The  re 
ligion  of  Zoroaster  was  a  dualism,  in  which  the  two  antago 
nizing  principles  were  Ormuzd  and  Ahriman,  symbols  of 
Light  and  Darkness.  It  was  a  modification  and  purification 
of  the  old  fire-worship,  in  which  the  fire  became  a  symbol  of 
the  sun,  so  that  it  was  really  a  species  of  sun-worship. 
Mithras,  representing  the  sun,  becomes  the  mediator  be 
tween  Ormuzd,  or  the  principle  of  Darkness,  and  the  world.  108 


Agents  wanted  in  all  parts  of  the  United  States,  and 
large  commissions  given. 

Copies  of  any  of  the  following  works  sent  l>y  matt,  postage 
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WORKS  OF  STANDARD  AUTHORITY 

ON    FREE-MASONRY. 

BY    DR.    A.    G.    MACKEY. 

I. 

A  Manual  Of  the  Lodge  ",  Or,  Monitorial  Instructions  in  the  Degrees 
of  Entered  Apprentice,  Fellow  Craft,  and  Master  Mason,  arranged  in  ac 
cordance  with  the  American  System  of  Lectures ;  to  which  are  added  the 
Ceremonies  of  the  Order  of  Past  Master,  relating  to  installations,  dedica 
tions,  consecrations,  laying  of  corner  stones,  &c.,  £c.  By  ALBERT  G.  MAC- 
KEY,  M.  D.,  General  Grand  High  Priest  of  the  General  Grand  Chapter  of 
the  United  States.  Author  of  Book  of  Chapter,  &c.,  &c.  One  volume,  8vo, 
handsomely  bound  in  blue.  Price  $1.60. 

The  present  volume  has  been  written  to  supply  a  desideratum  in  Masonic  Literature,  namely, 
the  means  of  enabling  the  young  mason,  or  the  recent  initiate,  more  thoroughly  to  understand  the 
ceremonies  through  which  he  has  passed,  and  to  extend  his  researches  into  that  sublime  system  of 
symbolism,  of  which  in  the  ordinary  lectures  of  the  lodge  he  has  received  only  the  faint  outline. 
Many  who  anxiously  desire  to  obtain  "more  light"  on  the  obscure  subject  of  Masonic  Symbolism, 
and  who  would,  if  possible,  learn  more  of  the  true  signification  of  the  emblems  and  allegories,  are 
cither  unwilling  or  unable  to  devote  to  these  objects  the  time  and  labor  requisite  for  poring  over 
the  ponderous  volumes  of  masonic  writings  in  which  these  subjects  are  discussed. 

To  such  students  a  manual  so  arranged  as  to  facilitate  inquiry,  by  making  every  explanation 
correspond,  in  order  of  time  and  place,  with  the  regular  progress  of  initiation,  must  be  of  great 
ralue,  because  its  study  involves  neither  a  great  expenditure  of  time,  which  many  cannot  well 
spare,  nor  does  it  demand  more  intellectual  exertion  than  almost  every  one  is  able  to  bestow.  The 
author  has  made  no  innovations,  but  has  sought  to  accommodate  the  order  of  ceremonies  to  the  sys 
tem  of  lectures  long  since  adopted  and  now  generally  prevailing  in  this  country. 

II. 

The  Book  Of  the  Chapter  ;  Or,  Monitorial  Instructions  in  the  De 
grees  of  Mark,  Past  and  Most  Excellent  Master,  and  the  Holy  Royal  Arch. 
By  ALBERT  G.  MACKEY,  M.  D.,  General  Grand  High  Priest  of  the  General 
Grand  Chapter  of  the  United  States.  Grand  High  Priest  of  the  Grand 
Royal  Arch  Chapter  of  South  Carolina,  &c.,  &c.  One  volume,  12mo,  hand 
somely  bound  in  scarlet.  Price  $1.60. 

Many  Masons,  although  willing,  and  indeed  anxious,  as  soon  as  they  are  initiated,  to  learn  some 
thing  more  of  the  nature  of  the  institution  into  which  they  have  been  introduced,  and  of  the  mean 
ing  of  the  ceremonies  through  which  they  have  passed,  are  very  often  unable,  from  the  want  of 
time  or  means,  to  indulge  this  laudable  curiosity.  The  information  which  they  require  is  to  be 
found  only  in  the  pages  of  various  masonic  treatises,  and  to  be  acquired  only  by  careful  and 
laborious  study.  Books  are  not  always  accessible,  or,  if  accessible,  leisure  or  inclination  may  be 
wanting  to  institute  the  necessary  investigations. 

But  a  "  Monitor"  is  within  every  Mason's  reach.  It  is  the  first  book  to  which  his  attention  is  di 
rected,  and  is  often  placed  in  his  hands  by  the  presiding  officer,  as  a  manual  which  he  is  recom 
mended  to  study;  and,  accordingly,  the  Monitor  is  to  many  a  Mason,  emphatically  his  vade  mecum. 
But  unless  he  can  find  something  more  important  in  its  pages  than  such  works  as  those  of  WEBB 
and  CROSS  contain,  he  will  scarcely  arise  from  the  perusal  with  increased  store  of  knowledge. 
His  want  is  for  '  more  light,"  not  for  a  recapitulation  of  what  he  has  already  heard  and  seen,  but 
for  a  rational  explanation  of  the  meaning  of  that  through  which  he  has  passed. 


To  meet  this  want,  and  to  place  in  the  hands  of  every  Royal  Arch  Mason  a  book  in  which  he  may 
find  a  lucid  explanation,  BO  far  as  the  laws  of  onr  institution  will  permit,  of  all  that  has  exciitd  his 
curiosity  or  attracted  his  interest  in  the  Chapter  degrees,  and  above  all,  to  f  urnisli  an  elementary 
treatise  of  easy  comprehension  on  the  Symbolism  of  Royal  Arch  Masonry,  have  been  the  objects  of 
the  author  iu  the  preparation  of  this  work. 

III. 

Cryptic  MaSOnry.  A  Manual  of  the  Council  :  or  Monitorial  Instructions 
in  the  degrees  of  lloyal  and  Select  Master  :  with  an  additional  Section  on 
the  Super  Excellent  Master's  Degree.  By  ALBERT  G.  MACKEY,  M,  D. 
Author  of  "  Lexicon  of  Free-Masonry,"  "  Manual  of  Lodge,"  Book  of  the 
Chapter,"  &c.,  &c.  One  volume,  12mo.  Handsomely  bound.  Price  $2.00. 

No  separate  Monitor  of  the  Council  Degrees  has  ever  before  been  published.  This  volume  will  be 
found,  like  the  preceding  Monitors  by  Dr.  Mackey,  not  a  mere  collection  of  scriptural  passages  and 
charges  to  candidates,  but  to  contain  information  on  points  of  masonic  science  and  history,  a 
knowledge  of  which  is  essentially  necessary  to  a  thorough  comprehension  of  the  moral  design  and 
symbolism  of  these  degrees. 

IV. 

A  Text-Book  of  Masonic  Jurisprudence;  illustrating  the 

Written  and  Unwritten  Law  of  Free-Masonry.  By  ALBERT  G.  MACKEY, 
M.  D.,  Author  of  "Masonic  Lexicon,"  "Book  of  Chapter,"  "Manual  d 
Lodge,"  &c.  One  large  12mo  volume  of  570  pages.  Price  $2.50. 

CONTENTS  :  Book  I.  Foundations  of  Masonic  Law.  Chapter  1.  The  Landmarks,  or  the  Un 
written  Law.  Chapter  2.  The  Written  Law.  Book  II.  Law  relating  to  Candidates.  Chap 
ter  1.  The  Qualifications  of  Candidates.  Chapter  2.  The  Petition  of  Candidates.  Chapter;!. 
Balloting  for  Candidates.  Chapter  4.  Consequences  of  Rejection.  Book  III.  Relating  to  In 
dividual  Masons.  Chapter  1.  Of  Entered  Apprentices.  Chapter  2.  Of  Fellow-Crafts.  Chap 
ter  3.  Of  Master  Masons.  Chapter  4.  Of  Past  Masters.  Chapter  5.  Of  uuaffiliated  Masors. 
Book  IV.  Law  relating  to  Lodges.  Chapter  1.  The  Nature  of  a  Lodge.  Chapter  2.  The 
Right  of  Subordinate  Lodges.  Chapter  3.  The  Officers  of  a  Lodge.  Chapter  4.  Rules  of 
Order.  Book  V.  Law  Relating  to  Grand  Lodges.  Chapter  1.  The  Nature  of  a  Grand  Lodge 
Chapter  2.  The  Powers  of  a  Grand  Lodge.  Chapter  3.  The  Officers  of  a  Grand  Lodge. 
Book  VI.  Masonic  Crimes  and  Punishments.  Chapter  1.  Masonic  Crimes.  Chapter  2.  Ma 
sonic  Punishments.  Chapter  3.  Masonic  Restoration.  Chapter  4.  Penal  Jurisdiction. 
Chapter  5.  Masonic  Trials. 

The  reputation  of  the  distinguished  author  is  a  sufficient  guarantee  that  this  volume  will  be 
found  an  invaluable  work  on  the  Principles  of  Masonic  Law.  It  should  be  in  the  hands  of  every 
Mason  who  desires  to  be  thoroughly  informed  in  the  jurisprudence  of  the  order.  This  work  should 
be  one  of  the  first  placed  in  every  masonic  library  or  lodge-room. 

V. 

MaSOniC  Ritualist;  Or,  Monitorial  Instructions  in  the  De 
grees  from  Entered  Apprentice  to  Select  Master.  By  A.  G.  MACKEY,  M.  D. 
Author  of  "Manual  of  the  Lodge,"  "  Book  of  the  Chapter,"  &c.,  &c.  One 
handsome  volume,  32mo.  Pocket  edition.  Handsomely  bound  in  cloth. 
Price  $1.25.  Tucks,  gilt  edges.  Price  $1.60. 

CONTENTS:  First.—  Complete  Monitorial  Instructions  of  the  Lodge,  with  all  the  Ceremonies  of  the 
Order  of  Past  Master,  relating  to  installations,  dedications,  consecrations,  laying  of  corner 
stones,  funeral  service,  regulations  of  processions,  &c.  ;  also  the  twenty-five  Landmarks  of 
Freemasonry,  old  Charges  and  General  Regulations  &c.,  &c.  Second.  —  A  complete  Monitor  for 
the  Chapter,  with  a  History  of  Royal  Arch  Masonry,  all  the  Ceremonies  of  the  Order  for  Con 
secrations,  Installations,  General  Visitations,  Form  of  Processions,  Constitutional  Rules,  Forms 
for  all  kinds  of  Documents  for  the  Chapter,  <Scc.,  &c.  Third.  —  A  Manual  of  the  Council  with 
the  Super-Excellent  Master  Degrees,  all  fully  and  beautifully  illustrated  with  symbolical  en 
gravings,  and  arranged  on  the  admirable  plan  which  has  made  Dr.  MAOKEY'S  works  the  standard 
throughout  all  parts  of  the  United  States. 
The  Publishers  do  not  hesitate  to  say  to  the  Masonic  public  that  they  will  find  this  Monitor  far 

more  complete  in  every  respect  than  any  other  work  of  the  kind  published. 


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